Arequipa was lovely, but as Friday dawned warm and sunny, I knew it was time for me to be moving on.
Buying a bus ticket to Tacna, from where I would cross the border into Chile, went without a hitch. All 5 of us got on the bus, and we got on our way only fifteen minutes late.
As the white brick buildings and tanned faces of Arequipa faded into desert sand I couldn't help but feel the freedom that always comes with starting off to a new place. The thrill of the unknown, the excitement of the experience. I was more than ready for some new places and some new faces. I couldn't help but marvel at the contrast between the lush valley surrounding the riverbed and the arid mountains that rose on all side - my first trip across a desert was just beginning! 
As we wound our way around mountain bases and zig-zagged our way up their sandy sides, my mind wandered off to a place I haven't been in a while, summed up in this song lyric: "Don't be scared to walk alone - don't be scared to like it! There's no time that you must be home, so sleep where darkness falls."
These simple words have always expressed perfectly the freedom I feel wandering the world on my own. I like my own company! And even though things haven't exactly been easy recently, I felt hugely relieved to realize that once again I felt like myself - the independent, inquisitive person I like being.
I talked to new people, tried new food, and crossed the border into a new country - all the while feeling exhilarated instead of intimidated! Ah...it's good to feel like myself again...!
The desert has a stark and ferocious beauty all its own. Every few minutes I tried to capture the wild and desolate feeling the mountains gave me, or the empty wholeness the sky offered, but in vain. Tiny little pictures would never be able to capture the freedom, lonesomeness, and breathless excitement of that 6-hour bus ride. So I gave up taking pictures, opened my window, and just sat back to soak it all in.
And before I knew it, I was in Chile.
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