I couldn´t find one plant growing in the desert between Arica and the Chilean border. Just sand, flat sand and mountains of sand - oh, and some trash people have chucked out their windows over the years.

In the past week, I have been told at least 10 different stories about the drama of crossing the Chile-Peru border. Everyone claimed that everyone else´s advice on how to cross was wrong.

¨Just buy a bus ticket from Iquique to Arequipa.¨ (They don´t sell them.)

¨Just go to Arica and buy a bus ticket to Arequipa.¨

¨Go to Arica and take a taxi across the border to Tacna. It´s only $1000 Chilean pesos.¨ ¨It´s only $2000 Chilean pesos.¨ (US$2 or US$4 respectively, but it´s actually $3000 Chilean / US$6.)

¨There´s a train, but it´s not running today.¨

¨The border check personnel are on strike. Don´t go today; stay another day in Arica, and you won´t have any problems. Today´s you´ll have to take a taxi to the Chilean side, walk two kilometers with you bags (through the desert) and get another taxi on the Peruvian side. If there are any. Oh, and I talked to people who had to wait five hours to cross today.

What actually happened: Kiwi Friend, who I met in BsAs and reunited with in Arica, got up early in the morning and walked to the international bus ´station´ in Arica - actually a parking lot with a few stands selling passages in five-passanger cars to Tacna. There was some border issue, so they were only willing to take us as far as the Chile check point for $1500 Chilean. When we got to the check point and had our passports processed, which took less than five minutes, there were cars waiting to take us to Tacna for $2000 Chilean. The two kilometer walk turned out to be about 50 meters.

The most interesting part of the border crossing turned out to be the surpisingly new, modern building at the Peruvian checkpoint. Oh, Chile, how you always lie.