Here it is, the longest day of our vacations! Probably longer than the flights themselves, it was a long and challenging journey from Puno to Mollendo.
Again, it rained during the whole night, and again that feeling of being lucky during the day! Probably that’s how the rainy season works in Peru 
We had the tickets for the bus Puno > Arequipa booked the day before, so we just had to go to the terminal and enjoy our trip on our “first row seats on a panoramic bus”! Arequipa, here we go!
In Peru we had to pay taxes for everything, even after having the tickets already pre-paid. Guess that there we’ll never know for sure if having a ticket actually means going on a trip… Oh well, again, we had to pay some additional tax after the bus ticket prior to our actually trip. This “tax” kind of made our schedule even more tight, no time to go to the bathroom! Thankfully, the woman at the ticket office said that the buses have toilet, uffff! Six hours is a long trip
Getting to the bus, and we started to realize that something was wrong…, where was the panoramic bus promised by the guy at the hostel? And what about the seats, wasn’t it supposed to be first row? So, we got a very old bus, smelly, dirty and that leaked water! Great! We weren’t pissed off because of the old bus, we actually really wanted to try a “chicken-bus” (which wasn’t also the case), we were pissed off because the guy promised something that was way far from real! Well, cultural shock, I guess…
Due to our “not so first row”, I barely took photos from Puno to Arequipa. So, unfortunately I don’t have photos to show (only one that I stole from Tajana). Again, we were again in Juliaca…, and because of the Carnival, the bus had to go through a different route outside the main road, and that according to the natives inside the bus, the driver picked the worse way… And it was kind of funny / scary! Just check the photo, we actually passed through that “road”!! As I said on a previous post, Juliaca is a flat city and when it rains the streets become rivers! This is almost true, we actually thought we would get stuck there and Juliaca doesn’t seem a nice place to get stuck!
Juliaca River Road
The way to Arequipa was quite traumatic for me, as I stated before, I had to time to go to the toilet before getting to the bus, and I have been told that the bus has toilet inside, which actually was not a lie. The woman just forgot to mention that the toilet was closed for some reason that the driver didn’t want to explain. So, basically I was 6 hours inside a bus, passing amazing landscapes and also desert areas, REALLY needy to pee!!
Another detail about that trip, it was supposed to be a express bus, no stops. And actually, no stops to let people exit, but the guy was stoping all the time to let people in. At each stop, a lot of people complaining with the driver, that was kind of fun 
But my head was too busy to panic out with my “primary needs”. I had to ask the driver to pee, but instead of using the polite way, I actually said “I need to piss now!” and as expected, the driver said I should hold a little bit more. Everyone laughed, and even some people asked the guy to let me go out to pee. He didn’t.
I actually even considered to pee inside the bus, I was almost at a “I don’t care” point of no return, but…, we were in Peru, in the middle of nowhere and I didn’t know what I should expect, probably the driver could put me outside the bus, and I really didn’t want to take that chance. I just kept holding it…, and then, something strange happened with me. My brain started to trick me, it was a very weird trip, my brain actually made me feel like totally wet, like if I had peed myself! I didn’t. So every few minutes (probably less than minutes) I was checking if my pants were actually wet! It was really insane, I never felt anything alike in my life! Guess that in Peru I tested my whole digestive system. And guess it works!
Arriving in Arequipa was even more painful, the city suburbs are like all other cities and towns in Peru, looking really awful and not appealing to stay at all. We were tired of that, and I was in pure desperation for a toilet! Mind that we were 6 hours inside a bus, and I had to drink water as well… What a challenging trip… And getting to the bus terminal wasn’t easy either, we passed through good part of the city suburbs until we stopped, and knowing that we were close my brain was pushing harder to “release”. The moment we start turning to the terminal, I just jumped to the door! I had to be the first one to get out!!! Well, guess that Ramón didn’t realize my desperation, and he asked me to take care of the luggage the moment I went out…, you might guess my reaction
Finally, outside the bus! Running to the toilet!!! And…, I had to pay to use it AHAHAH!! I didn’t care at all! Not going into much details, but it was really hard to pee, and it actually hurt! 
I really never felt something alike before… After that, my mood totally changed! Relaxing mode, eating something and deciding what to do next!
Atacama Desert, mountains
We were tired of traveling, and we really were needing two or three days of pure relax, so, why not going straight to Mollendo? Changing our initial plans, Arequipa was postponed! How to get to Mollendo? By bus, about another 6 hours…, or by taxi… And, fuck it! Let’s go by taxi!
Atacama Desert, driest place on Earth
Two hours from Arequipa to Mollendo, 200 Peruvian Neuvos Soles, about 60€ for a 130kms trip! Not bad at all! Now I managed to take a few photos, and we crossed part of the Peruvian part of Atacama Desert! It is indeed fantastic, and quite curious at the same time, along the road we saw several parcels of terrain well defined for different owners. Don’t forget that it is a desert, and Atacama Desert is the driest desert on Earth, so, why having parcels there? I didn’t understand that, but I also didn’t ask.
Atacama Desert
So, in one day we went from the 3800 meters high, from the highest navigable lake on Earth, going down to the 0 meters high (see level) and passing through amazing green landscapes at the Andes, passing through the second biggest city in Peru, passing through the driest place on Earth, a desert, and seeing the Pacific Ocean! What a day! Ignoring the “primary needs” issue, it was indeed a memorable day!
Arriving in Mollendo
Arriving in Mollendo, time to pick a hotel! We were all tired, and everyone with low tolerance, so picking a hotel was not as easy as expected, but we ended up at a very good place very close to the beach! After that, a walk through the town and going for dinner, and finally having a very deserved ice cream! Then, bed time!
Sunset in Mollendo
There we really felt safe, but it also looks like an expensive area to live, the housing is way better than any other part of the city we’ve been to, the traffic is way lesser, and it seems organized.
It was nice while it lasted…
