These two border towns are found on either side of the Peru/Chile border. Reasonably pleasant, they’re popular for their shopping and in the case of Arica the beach. There’s not a huge else to say about them really and my main reason for coming here has been because they provide the highest density of addresses from my father.
Tacna was a disappointment. At one hotel the lady believed she may have seen him in the past, but a check of her records showed nothing. People were, however, sympathetic to my search and have been very helpful – including some new ideas to pursue such as asking the airlines to check their passenger lists (I’ve no idea how keen they’ll be to do this, but maybe I have contacts….) and to also put notices in the newspapers. I’ve also had some ideas of my own. In a year’s time my father’s passport will be due for renewal. I will now send a letter to all embassies and consulates in South America, leaving a message for him. With a little luck one of these may get through. It gives me an opening to try.
For the rest of today I’ll go around the addresses I have in Arica. Who knows – I may get lucky, I may not. But at least I can feel secure in having tried to do something.