Viaje a Iquique y Pica

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This past weekend we had our first weekend trip with CIEE. We met at the airport at 6am on Friday morning for our flight to Iquique, which is in northern Chile. Unfortunately, Elsa (our trip leader) and two students had some trouble with their tickets and did not make it to the plane on time. So the other 15 of us headed to Iquique, where our tour guide was waiting for us at the airport. Iquique is amazing because the town is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the desert on the other side (both giant sand dunes and mountains). We had a small tour bus that took us to our hotel in Iquique. The hotel was right on the beach and had absolutely amazing views and a natural pool outside. We had lunch at a restaurant and began the tour of the city in the afternoon when the other 3 arrived. We walked along the beach and visited different historical buildings, mueums, and the Zofri (a discount mall where we watched people doing a tribal dance!). In the central square, we were able to watch people of all ages practicing the Cueca, the national dance that will be danced all over Chile during their holiday for independence day. We saw these signs that say P.E.E. and were very intregued as to what they mean. We learned that they mean Punto de Encuentro Ante Emergencia (emergency meeting place).

On Saturday we woke up, had breakfast in the hotel, and then left the beach and headed to the desert. We drove to Santa Laura and Humberstone, which are ex-oficinas salitreras (old mining locations). We were able to tour both si

tes, which have preserved their machinery and buildings. At Humberstone, we were able to learn about the lives of the miners and their families because it had a church, theater, pool, houses, offices, and cl

assrooms. When we were a

t Humberstone, this girl came up to me and told me that she is in my education class at La Católica. I had no idea who she was, but she recognized me. It was so strange to be far away from Santiago and run into someone!

Our tour through the desert continuted to the site of the Geoglifos de Pintados which are carvings (more than 350 anthropomorfic, geometric, and zoomorphic figures) in the mountains that have been preserved because it never rains. There was literally no vegetation or

civilization around us for many miles in all directions. The picture on the right is one of many where the meaning is lost in translation. It says "Baños" and "rooms of bath."

Our tour then continuted to Pica, which is a small town about 45 minutes away from Iquique. We had lunch there, visited a natural hotspring, walked around the town (one main street where people sell crafts and fruit--lots of mangos). We watched the sun set, had dinner in the town, and then played bananagrams in our hotel room.

On Sunday, we woke up late and everyone relaxed by the pool of our hotel. On our way back to the airport, we stopped in La Tirana, a town of 1200 people, to learn about the religious folklore celebration that happens every year and draws over 200,000 people to this town.

It was a great weekend, especially because it was warm and we were able to see areas of Chile that are so different from Santiago.

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