Parque Nacional Lauca

I hardly know where to begin; this was such an amazing day trip. Parque Nacional Lauca is about two hours from Arica and sits 15,000 feet above sea level (three times higher than Denver), right near the border with Bolivia. To combat altitude sickness en route, we had lots of "mate de coca," a hot tea made with coca leaves. The drive there was simply spectacular, as you can see in the photos. We went up and around, and up and around, for what seemed like forever, on some pretty sketchy dirt roads, with no guardrails! I went from a "somewhat pleasant lightheadedness" to having a mild headache, to feeling like I had to move in slow motion when we reached Lago Chungara, our final destination. I did very well, though, and any discomfort was SO worth it. The park is known for its snow-topped volcanoes, highland villages, and wildlife; and I think I will need to give those last two their own posts!

Campo de la Alianza, Peru

Just outside of Tacna, we visited the monument of the Campo de la Alianza, site of the battle between allied Peruvian and Bolivian forces and Chile on May 26, 1880, during the War of the Pacific. This war ultimately led to Arica, the town in which I'm living, becoming part of Chile. It is a stunning monument, as you can see in the photos, and there's a nearby cemetery in the middle of the vast desert. What I found really interesting is that many people from Arica have never been there, because, as Gladys told me, for a long time Chileans were not welcomed at the site. It made me wonder about our U.S. Civil War battlefields and how long it was before anyone from either side felt free to visit them. It seems like 1880 was a long time ago, but Gladys said that some of the resentment has only recently subsided.

Tacna, Peru

On Saturday I took my first day trip to Tacna, Peru, a city of about 400,000 people that is only a 45 minute bus ride from Arica; border patrol is only 9 miles away. People from Arica go frequently to Tacna for cheap shopping. The deals are indeed incredibly good. Unfortunately, they are also a little suspect. For example, places that sell books actually sell photocopied books. They look like they have a regular cover, but sure enough, the inside pages are copied. You can buy movies in Tacna that have not come out yet on DVD in the United States because someone in Peru actually taped the movie while seeing it in a movie theatre and put it on DVD! (Sometimes you can see someone getting up to go to the bathroom.) The illegality of this frustrates Chileans because the cheap prices of things made illegally in Peru has closed down some legally run stores in Arica. There's just a different sense of how much to enforce laws in each country. Nonetheless, Aricans do shop in Tacna, as did I. I only bought one book, though - and felt a little guilty about it! Fortunately, we also stopped at a cathedral, where I could do penance. :) The church you see in the photo was designed by none other than Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame!

Cena Internacional

On Friday I got a great last-minute invitation to attend a dinner given by Pochy's friend in honor of a visiting professor from the University of Northern Iowa, Kathryn East. Other guests were local Chilean teachers who have gone on exchange in Iowa, living there for a period of time with host families. We arrived at about 9:30 pm to find a man cooking Chinese food outside (see photo). What a great idea! This is very common here - the chef comes, sets up the wok and fire, cooks, puts all the food on the table, and then heads on to his next appointment! It was some of the best Chinese food I've ever had. I love the group photo because what you see is so typical of homes in this area - a large, lovely outdoor area with a table for dining outside. (Pochy and her husband Jaime are on the far right.) Dinner started at 9:30 pm and with lively conversation, pisco cours, food, wine, coffee, etc., it went until 1:30 am. I was so glad I picked up Pochy's phone call to invite me!

Puesta del Sol

I have just poured myself a glass of wine and am taking in this view from my patio - sunset over the Pacific. I am unwinding after a day of various stresses over Peru, of all things! I am trying to accompany the Chilean retired folks staying at my hotel on a bus trip over the border tomorrow. The border with Peru is 9 miles away, and our shopping destination of Tacna is about 50 miles beyond that. For some reason the people who run my hotel, who are always very nice and concerned about me, think that I may run into trouble at the border because I have a Chilean visa, but not a Peruvian visa. I cannot imagine that I'm "trapped" in Chile for three months when I have a passport, but at any rate there's some concern that Peru won't let me in - or out! Plan A is for me to show my Chilean I.D. card with all the other Chileans, not open my mouth, and slide through as Chilean. Plan B is that the hotel will send a taxi for me at the border if there's a problem. Can you imagine?! The old folks are NOT going to be happy if the gringa is holding up their trip! :) I also had to exchange pesos for soles (Peruvian money) today and was dismayed to think that I have finally mastered pesos and am now holding totally unfamiliar bills and coins once again. I'm starting to think there's something great about that Euro idea, when you don't have to do all this exchanging! Who can be too stressed looking at that sunset, though...

Pochy

In this photo you see my new friend "Pochy" Morales (her real first name is Hildegard) on the right. Pochy is a former Chilean Fulbrighter to the U.S, in Iowa, and she lives within walking distance of where I live. She is very friendly and outgoing, and it's been great to have her living so close. Her husband Jaime also happens to be in my department at the U. Today Pochy took me to the market so I could stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought some of those lemons you see since I will need them when I make a trip to the "altiplano" at some point. People here swear that sucking on a lemon on the way up and on the way down from the high altitude helps to control sickness. Who knew?! I will at least try it! Pochy and I had a very interesting discussion on the way home about her experiences with discrimination when she lived in Iowa. When she spoke Spanish with some of the Spanish-speaking immigrants there, some people told her she should stop - that she should go back to her own country if she wanted to speak Spanish. She speaks English just fine, but she was just doing what we all do when we find people who speak our native language - which is to speak it! The British assistant in our department and I speak English together, even though we both speak Spanish, simply because there's an ease and comfort to it. I don't think anyone here would ever tell us to stop; I don't think they give it a second thought. Pochy also said that she felt some discrimination because of her skin color; people often thought she was Mexican. She confessed to having held some negative stereotypes about Mexicans in her own mind, until she was thought to be one of them and realized that it was hurtful. I thought she was really courageous to admit that.

El Cantante

This evening found me listening to Alejandro, the Chilean lounge singer, at the senior citizens' dinner at my hotel - an experience one thinks is unlikely to occur again in one's lifetime. How did this happen? I met a woman my age named Claudia at breakfast; she is here with her parents, who are part of the Golden Years retirement vacation program. I don't normally eat dinner with the seniors, but Claudia invited me, so I accepted. I did not know it was entertainment night! Alejandro appeared during dessert and urged us all to join him in singing what I can only assume are the golden oldies of Latin America. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, Alejandro stopped and shouted, "Ola!" (Wave!), and all the old folks had their hands in the air around the table! The evening ended with everyone on the dance floor, and I got to see some very impressive tango moves (the couple you see in one of the photos). Honestly, it was so sweet to see all these couples and groups of friends having such a wonderful time. Oh - and I bought one of Alejandro's CDs as a keepsake. Something tells me they are not in stores. :)