'Walkies' Wednesday

Kathryn >> Presented with a tolerably cool, overcast day we decided to climb a near-by hill which apparently offered good views of the city. Following the usual navigation issues, we found our ways out of a slum and headed a rocky track. Guarded by the usual street dogs, and fenced with razor wire we were a little miffed about just what kind of track it would be! After zig-zaging for 45 minutes we did indeed find great views of Copiapo, in all it's glory. The CBD (pictured) is barely distinguishable from the urban sprawl, which snakes up the valleys either side. The dried out river could be more easily distinguished - particularly for the great piles of mud/dust that had been scooped out onto its banks.
Descending, we found a Peruvian restaurant for lunch and were totally delighted by their cooking. I had a creamy chicken-y curry thingy and James a stir fry creation with deep fried chips in it! They had managed to combine more than 4 ingredients with seasoning and sauces.... needless to say we are increasingly easy to please! This

confirmed Atina's suggestions that the Purivans and Argentinians do more cooking and are much better at it!
Again, we went to visit our mate the mechanic, just to confirm, again that the car would be ready tomorrow. He seemed positive, and it looked like he was even working on a part from our car! Our spirits lifted by the prospect of hitting the road again, we returned to laze about at the hostal. If there was a pool, or any significant body of water in Copiapo, this could be liked to a lazy resort holiday... unfortunately it's just been 10 days of lazing around in a desert.