Our travels with Pachi also took us to the Azapa Valley, just outside of Arica. This valley is known for its production of fruits and vegetables, especially a unique violet-colored olive that produces a strong-tasting olive oil. I was so interested to learn about this because when I first bought olive oil in Arica back in March, I had noticed that it was especially strong - and good. It was from the Azapa Valley, and now I know that I was not imagining the strong taste! One of my students had me try olives that her father, who works in the valley, had prepared from scratch - right from the tree. They were amazing. There's a whole process of soaking them in salt water for a period of days until they reach perfection. Also in the Azapa Valley are the famous geoglyphs, which you see in the photo. Geoglyphs are huge figures made by collecting stones from the hillside to form figures or by removing debris to expose the differently colored surface as the image. The valley's geoglyphs are thought to have been made by ancient peoples, but it is not certain what purpose they served - whether they were used for directions or as some type of worship ritual. We do know one thing, though: Pachi pointed out to us the large, protruding male genitalia on the animal figures, representing their wish for fertility. Isn't it a riot that thousands of years pass, and some things don't change?!
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