Day 32 – Friday, February 27, 2026
Despite hitchhiking the previous day, I still rode 85 kilometers till my savior, the truck driver, picked me up. Then a 4-hour drive (that would have taken 4 days) - so I was quite beat. That morning I had trouble pulling my horses together. The breakfast was OK, but did not live up to my expectations in this otherwise nice hotel. It was only after 10 am that I left - feeling a bit drowsy, but still excited - as was going to make the crossing to Peru. I took a detour and rode alongside the beach, which was nicely developed - with separate lanes for runners and bikers, playgrounds, food trucks and toilets (at that time, it was almost completely deserted). Talking about the desert, a municipal park was established along an estuary - and suddenly all was green. There were dozens of eagles mingling about and I also spotter a wader. It was time to bid farewell to Chile. There was a large group of truck drivers waiting in the shade forr their parked vehicles. Then the actual border came, me feeling a bit emotional when seeing the "Gracias for su visita" sign. In the past month, a strong bond formed to the beautiful country, its people and the easy, uncomplicated way of life. Muchas gracias for having treated me so nicely, taking me on a boat ride, giving me water and Gatorade in the midst of the desert, inviting me for lunch, pickingg me up within minutes of starting to hitchhike...what great experiences! The crossing was anything but smooth, but have had a lot worse experiences (e.g. on the Israeli - Egyptian border). First, the regular police stopped me and radioed whether a Hungarian on his bike is allowed to cross. He was. Next, similar to the Turkey - Georgia border, all passengers had to get out and stand in a long line. I was told to join in and was ready for the worst. There was some paperwork to fill out and, to my surprise, the line moved so quickly, I was hardly done filling it out and was facing the first (out of five) officer - no issues. Then came customs, here a guy with impeccable English quickly finished me off. The troubles started at the next line, vehicles control. They were quite puzzled how to process the bike.
A bit slow, but friendly lady came out to inspect the bike and she went to great lengths to find sn identifying number. She made all sorts of inscriptions about the color and model - then it turned out the officer with the English knowledge had forgotten something, so I had to go back. Luckily, for regular cases, everything moves quickly, the place is so clean you could eat off the floor. The last control was that all my bags jad told go through a scanner - and I was in Peru. The crossing took a little over an hour. My phone was showing the regular time, but my watch was 2 hours "late". Yes, indeed, Peru is two hours behind - meaning (at least here, close to Chile) that daylight starts early, but it is already at 7 pm that it gets dark (later my phone adjusted, too). I started riding in a pretty arid desert - on a long and straight road. To my surprise, it kept getting greener and greener - and by the time I reached the town of Tacna, it was like there would be no desert whatsoever. Tacna is a vibrant city, also known as the “Heroic City” for its fierce patriotism and role in the country’s history. Looking at Wikipedia, it had originally belonged to Peru, then was seized by Bolivia, then back to Peru, then annexed by Chile and now it is Peruvian again. It serves as major commercial hub. There is a historic center, which features the iconic Tacna Parabolic Arch (by the bureau of Gustav Eiffel) and a beautiful neo-renaissance cathedral. On the way to Tacna, differences between Chile and Peru became quickly evident. The road, the signs, the vehicles and how they were driven (wildly), the buildings - I felt most things being less modern. I made an uneducated guess: the GDP per capita must be 40% lower in Peru. I checked online - not 40%, it is 50%, i.e.. just half. Hmmm. Also a change is that I have to find a single person that speaks English. True, in Chile it is not widely used, but here no luck so far. I had plans to ride on, but knowing it gets dark early made me reconsider. So I get money exchanged (called Sol, 1 € = 4 Sol), found a hypermarket, got a bite to eat and even had my laundry washed. So, let's see what is in next!