The bill was finally paid after Joanna came to the hotel, but apparently, some people had tried to leave too early and the manager was reported to be clinging on to the side of someone's car as they drove away.
Following Greg Stanley in his Landcruiser Amazon on the road south from Arequipa.
We were going along quite well and there was a marked improvement in the scenery, including pink sand, when we came across an accident on a twisting road. David and Patsy Mitchell from New Zealand had collided with a huge lorry.
Their car, a Holden, was a write-off. We stopped to help and found out that Patsy had been taken to a Health Centre in Cocachacra nearby. David was covered in blood which must have been Patsy's as he appeared to be unhurt. We stayed at the scene then drove off to try and find Patsy. She was in a small local clinic, unable to communicate with the staff and her ankle and foot were at the most unnatural angle to her leg. She also had a broken collarbone. We were able to tell the nurses she had no feeling in her foot. David was driven to see her and the Irish crew brought their luggage down to the clinic. A dreadful situation. She has to go to Arequipa for surgery. We accompanied David to the police station,but the police were out of their depth, especially when questioning David. When we returned to the clinic, there were many people there, including, thankfully, Greg Williams, who took charge of the situation and apparently prevented the blood supply to her foot from being cut off. They are going to Lima with Greg for further treatment. We finally left after about 2 hours.
Heading south along the Pan American Highway passing one of the many 'horse shoe' shaped sand dunes.
We were all very glad when we finally reached the Childean border just a few miles north of our destination, Arica.
The contrast between the poverty stricken shacks of the Peruvian border post and the spotlessly clean modern buildings on the Chilean side could not have been greater. We were leaving the third world and returning to the first!
We stayed at the Hotel El Paso which is fine, but some people were complaining about the standard.
We ate at the Yacht Club with Colin, Jill and Christopher Wray and some others.
Total distance driven today is 285 miles.
