Well, if Santiago seemed very familiar and U.S. Americanized, Arica is quite different. I've seen nothing from the U.S. so far (which is fine!), and the population here is much more indigenous. I stand out with my pale New England skin! Arica is pure desert, recorded in books as being the driest place in the world, so I'm told. They can go a couple of years without a drop of rain. It makes Arizona look like a rain forest. I've learned that they do have trouble with terremotos (earthquakes), one of which recently destroyed a large part of their hospital. What you see in this photo is the Pacific Ocean, at a spot that has been photographed for National Geographic because surfers come from around the world (Aloha, Anneliese -can you believe it?!) to face off with "El Gringo," a giant wave that is especially tricky because of underlying rocks. Apparently, the first person to conquer the wave was from the U.S.; hence, the name. We saw lots of surfers there today. The "we" I'm referring to is Gladys Aguilera and I. Gladys is my wonderful new colleague at the "U." She immediately invited me to lunch at her house, where I met her husband Wilfredo, her sister Cristina, and her niece Alejandra. For a first course, Wilfredo made the best ceviche I have ever eaten using fresh local fish, and he paired it with a Chardonnay from Central Chile. Wilfredo loves to talk about Chile (and many other things) and knows SO much; however, his local accent means I understand about 70% of what he says. I'm smiling a lot and have made it my goal to understand him completely before I leave! Later we were joined by Gladys's son Oscar, his fiancee Giovanna, and their 10-month-old daughter Emilia. Lunch went on for two hours at the family table, with people coming and going, which is typical. It very much reminded me of meals when I lived in France - so slow and relaxing. Definitely a good thing.