Arica, Chile

Today we visited Arica (pronounce a·ruh·kuh) is a northern city in Chile with a population of 230,000.

We went to the 5th floor deck to watch the ship dock. There were huge piles of sand on the docks, as well as thousands and thousands of birds. Later we learned that the sand piles were really soybeans, which is what attracted the birds. Pretty cool, but I think I’m going to cut down on eating soybeans…

Lots of other wildlife too. We especially enjoyed watching the seals playing in the water, and the pelicans feeding on the swarms of fish in the bay.

One of our friends, Bruce, watched the docking with us. It turns out that he had done that kind of work for his career. He explained a lot of the details to us. They have a rubber ball with a string on it that a worker on the ship throws to a longshoreman on the dock. The string is attached to a bigger string, that is attached to a rope, that is attached to a… I’m sure you get the just of it. In the end, half-a-dozen guys were pulling in these huge ropes that are used to anchor the boat. In the traditional Chilean way, there was their dog. The best part of the show was when the dog bites ahold of the rope and starts helping them pull. Got a good chuckle out of that.

I tried to get a picture of this, but no luck. This trip has really humbled me with regards to my picture-taking abilities. Oh well. At least I can say that I managed to take several pictures of my finger in three different continents in the last two months… So, we’ll have to settle for this photo instead.

With the Andes Mountains on the horizon to the west, Arica is located at the foot of El Morro (hill) and is surrounded by the arid Atacama Desert. This is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, with nearly no rain for hundreds of years.

This desert gained international attention about 10 years ago when 33 miners became trapped underground. Governments, and drilling company’s experts from around the world became involved, and after several grueling months, they eventually saved these folks. (I recall waking up every morning, and Karen would tell me that she had not been able to sleep again, laying awake all night worrying about the miners. What a kind sole she is…) There is an outstanding book (Deep Down Dark) written by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Héctor Tobar that captures this story. And for movie buffs, The 33 (starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Antonio Banderas) is a must watch cinema event. 

To the east lies two lush valleys (fed by runoff from the Andes Mountains) making Arica a true desert oasis. But its extensive nitrate mines is what made the city invaluable. So much so that in the 1880s, it’s neighbors (Peru and Bolivia) attempted to take over the city and its surrounding areas. However, Chile was able to fend them off, and the final battle took place on Morro de Arica, a 450’ rocky outcropping at the mouth of the bay. 

This prominent hilltop served as our orientation marker as we made our way throughout the city. Our original plan was to explore the town-center a mile or so from the port. However, Lady Luck was on our side, and today was the first day of the city’s 3-day International Andean Carnival. When exiting the port’s terminal building, we were immediately inundated with the fervor of the sights and sounds, which stretched on for well over a mile. So rather than the casual stroll which we had planned, we let ourselves be carried away with the crowd.

At the far edge of the town-center, we caught a taxi and drove up the coast to a local restaurant that Punkin’ had chosen before leaving the ship. Having come into the port later than usual, we arrived at Restaurante Rayu shortly after noon. We were looking forward to spending the last of our Chilean Pesos on some more yummy Pisco Sours and local beers. But more importantly, this restaurant is rumored to have the best seafood in the city. 

Located on a local beach, the venue’s covered patio has about 20 tables (mostly empty) providing a casual yet elegant setting. We sat close to the bar, which was the centerpiece for the entertainment. The bar was a workbench for the curators of magical elixirs. What a show!

The drink menu was fancy and extensive. There were several vases of exotic flowers, and vessels of dried citrus slices, which they used to dress their refreshing concoctions. 

I have to say that, although the Pisco Sours were absolute works of art, they were very strong, and one each was plenty to get our boats a-floatin’! So we shifted to local beers while we ate. 

The food was also very artistic. In addition to the smaller hors-d’oeuvre in the picture, we also shared a large ceviche appetizer. While it was much different than any other ceviche either of us had ever had, we agreed it was one of the best. (It had coconut milk. Interesting and delisious!)

For our main courses, we both chose pulpo (octopus) prepared two ways. Over the years, we’ve tried many different octopus dishes. (Greek, Italian, Japanese, etc.) Both of these dishes were different than anything we’d ever had, and very yummy. (Everybody was happy except the octopus!)

I must say that I failed again to take some of the pictures of the food. A comedian at one of the recent onboard shows was talking about food pics, and I had to laugh. 20 years ago, I felt the same as he does today, but I had forgotten. So I ask, do you remember when cameras were expensive, and buying film was an ongoing expense? In my younger days, I would save up for months until I could afford to have the film developed. I’ll tell you what. We sure didn’t take pictures of everything we ate back in those days. I use to Razz folks about using their phones to take food pics. But over the years I have forgotten, and now, I too am “one of those guys”. So, maybe not taking a picture of every single thing we eat is just “getting back to normal”. Hmmm….

Our culinary adventure took about three hours and was a great way to spend the afternoon. After some more carnival adventures, we were back on the ship to start our journey anew. This time, heading towards Pisco Peru. Home of Manchu Piccho!

“Adventure is out there.” (From the “Up” movie.)

– Mike