German
Chile: 20 years of traveling all year round
December 2025
Anniversary
20 years of traveling all year round – on our trip around the world, we experienced unique things, saw and learned a lot, marveled at magnificent nature, met many warm-hearted people – incredible memories are swirling around in our heads.
Many thanks to all our many virtual travel companions, the good travel acquaintances, and our long-standing friends – we will stay in touch.
Enjoy life in good health and have fun next year!
Mercedes Sprinter Service
As scheduled, we arrived at Mercedes Kaufmann in Iquique at 9:00 a.m. Everything seemed to be going well at first. The vehicle was already registered in the system from its last service in Santiago.
Shortly before noon, work began and the brake pads were checked. These had to be replaced. Our inquiry as to whether they had the ones with the built-in sensors was not answered. Apparently, they had the right ones or could arrange to get them at short notice.
Shortly before 3:00 p.m., a boy in a green overall (note that only apprentices wear these) was tinkering with the brake pads. Since we had a view of our vehicle in the workshop from the huge reception hall, we became increasingly nervous, especially since none of the many office staff informed us about the status of the situation. Closing time at 6:00 p.m. was fast approaching.
We demand that a service manager take charge of the work and inspection. The reception manager said he had given our Sprinter top priority and that we should know that minor services (oil change, filter change) normally require the vehicle to stay in the workshop for 72 hours. We laughed and remained calm.
Suddenly, one of the many desk jockeys appeared and said that foreign vehicles always took much longer to repair. Well, after the conversation, the diesel filter was ordered in Santiago using our part number information so that we could pick it up in four days. However, one of our spare diesel filters that we had brought with us was installed. We were also able to tell them the oil quality specified by Mercedes.
At 6:10 p.m., we were presented with a very expensive bill. We paid and just wanted to get out of this specialist workshop!
Tire ordering
We knew that our BFGoodrich AT KO3 275/70/17 tires were available at a large tire company in Iquique. The offer was acceptable, and we ordered the tires on November 22. The company has estimated a delivery time of four days. When we wanted to make an appointment for installation after ten days, we were informed that two tires would be available on December 9 and the remaining two on December 19.
Since our tires are still roadworthy after 75,000 km, we changed our plans and decided to take another trip to Peru before the installation. By then, the 4-day delivery period will definitely be over!
Uber driver wearing gloves
We were quite surprised when we got into an ice-cold, extremely chilly Uber taxi we had ordered. The driver was wearing knitted wool gloves, and we were shivering and freezing, even though it was summer in Chile.
Pacific coast of Chile
We drove over 1,600 kilometers along the Pacific coast from La Serena to Arica. In some places, the Pacific is very rough, with dangerous currents and uneven seabed’s. The climate is consistently mild and dry. With pleasant temperatures under the sun, we enjoyed countless places to stop and spend the night right on the rocky beaches or high above beautiful bays. Only the water is really cold.
