Beach Saga: Part One

We've just returned from Arica, Chile and I've had a blog burning in my skull since day one. We woke up around 5am in order to beat the truck traffic on the highway from Bolivia to Chile and as we were pulling out of the house around 7am, our neighbor stuck her head out the window to inform us that the border was being blockaded and no one would be able to pass through. Bummer! This was not a good start for our trip. We quickly changed plans and realized we'd have to figure out how to get to the Peruvian border and would then cross through Peru and enter Chile on that side. We had the pleasure of traveling with our friends Andrew and Paulina and their 2 year-old daughter, Lily. So, the 2 girls were strapped into the middle seat of the truck we had borrowed from a friend, the ladies were in the back, and the boys were navigating up front. It took about 3 or so hours to make it to the border, driving through the beautiful Andean plain at 14,000 ft. There was a moderate line at customs, but we began the process of filling out papers, showing documents, paying fees to leave the country, etc. The girls were doing well, but the pregnant moms (did I forget to mention Pauli is 7 months pregnant and I am 6?) squeezed into the back were already slightly uncomfortable after several hours of driving and suffering from small bladders. After going through most of what we needed to do, we headed to a separate building where we would get clearance for the car to go through. Scotty presented the paper that Andy, the owner of the car, had typed up and signed giving his permission for us to leave the country with his car. That was not acceptable, however. We were told it needed to be done by a notary and that we'd have to go back to La Paz. No. This can't be happening. We've come this far! We rack our brains with ideas from having him fax us a notarized copy (is there a fax machine in this tiny border town?) to finding a notary there who might be willing to give us the official stamp. They don't accept faxes or copies and there was no notary from the border to La Paz- NO ONE. After becoming very discouraged we come up with the plan of sending Scotty back to town by taxi, which would be faster, and leaving the 5 of us to eat, rest and wait. Scotty immediately finds a taxi and takes off. We start looking for a road out of town that will give us a more scenic spot to eat lunch. As we're turning around, we see Scotty coming back up the street shaking his head. He's talked with Andy who can't get free until later in the afternoon and who also reminded him that we probably won't find an office open until after 3, which was a bit later than we'd be arriving. We decide we'll all go back to La Paz and wait as long as it takes. I'll shorten this bit and just say we made it back, found an open and willing notary, got Andy to meet us and had the official sheet of paper that we're told will get us through any border in about 2 hours of waiting and $40 later. Now, back to the border. We're praying and hoping and have realized that we'll only be able to make it into Peru but won't get to the Chilean border early enough to cross (borders close around 7pm). We'll stay in a border town for the night and go for it in the morning. We informed our travel agent who called our hotel and let them know, who also informed me that there's no way they'd bump up our reservations and let us extend without cost for the 4th night we had already paid for. "No hotel in the world would do that", our friendly travel guide replied to my plea. We make it to the border, get cleared with the Bolivian side, rejoice and head on to the Peruvian checks. We're shortly informed that Peru doesn't have any agreements with Bolivia and will not accept our notarized document and there's nothing they can do. Again, I go into denial. We've come and gone and come and the Bolivian customs told us this was what was necessary! We quickly realize they knew all along that Peru would not accept it, but were just doing what they needed to do on their side. Apparently, Peruvian customs turns people back all the time for trying to drive borrowed vehicles into the country. We are beside ourselves and all of us near tears or already crying. Pauli and I decide we'll go in, looking very pregnant, and maybe take a crying toddler. We've been in the car all day and we're being told we can't get through. We know we're losing a night in the hotel. We're upset. We plead, we throw the pregnant and toddlers card- all to no avail. Before we know it, we're back on the road, going home. I can't remember when I've been so disappointed. We decide to regroup when we get home and pray that the border between Bolivia and Chile is open in the morning and try that route. And wouldn't you know that when we get here, there's a black-out and we have no power?? Perfect. However, Andrew whips up a nice spaghetti dinner for our hungry bellies and tired souls (gas stove) and we all crash bewildered and wondering how we'll make it to the beach and if it's worth putting ourselves through another entire day of driving (we were 14 hours in the car on Monday) on Tuesday. To be continued...