Arica (Chile): Surfing in the desert, loving pets, and the impressive Chungará Lake

After almost 5 months of living and traveling in Peru, I traveled to Chile in mid-November, specifically to Arica. Arica is a small town with a desert climate, located just a few kilometers south of Tacna, the last major city in Peru. Right upon my arrival in Arica, I noticed that I was now in a different country: In Peru, one must fear being run over on the pedestrian crossing. In Chile, however, cars nearly come to a complete stop when a person is waiting at the crosswalk. They also always obediently turn on their hazard lights when they want to let a pedestrian cross the street. I find this super-practical, and we could do the same in Switzerland ;-). This way, all parties involved know what to do: either walk or brake.

Arica is known for its surfing and offers ideal conditions for it. There is a kilometer-long sandy beach and waves for every level. Arica is also famous among top surfers, as they try to ride the notorious wave 'El Gringo' here. For me, the first surfing lessons of my life were on the agenda. I had a super-good and ambitious surf instructor who gave me private lessons for a week. After each surfing lesson (actually 90 minutes, but we always spent around 2-2.5 hours in the sea), I was completely exhausted. But the experience was definitely worth it! With a lot of dedication, Christian (alias Shorto (because he was very small as a boy)) not only introduced me to surfing but also showed me the life of the locals in Arica. During those days, I was part of the Shorto family and was 'dragged along' everywhere ;-): to their own beach bar, to the best beaches with optimal surfing conditions, to the market, and to watch the sunset with a barbecue on the beach. I felt really at home in Arica. This was not just thanks to Shorto and his family, but also the two dogs and the cat, who were part of the shared accommodation in my AirBnB :-).

Besides surfing and swimming in the sea, I also took a trip to the Lauca National Park. We drove to Chungará Lake, which is located at over 4,500 meters above sea level. The lake, with grazing vicuñas and the Parinacota volcano in the background, looked stunning. Unfortunately, not all members of the travel group could enjoy this magnificent view. There were some people who didn't handle the altitude well at all and were moving around the area while being sick... Luckily, the altitude didn’t affect me, and I was able to enjoy the mega-delicious (and huge) lunch in the village of Putre without any problems :-).