Amiable Arica

Aríca nestles in the crotch of sandy mountains sloping down to the Pacific.

It's really weird to lay on the beach, cerveza in hand, and look to the left or right and see mountains touching the ocean.

But, as with Iquique, Aríca spreads out along the Pacific, with the Andes surrounding the city.

The Andes dips a big toe into the Pacific.

The big piece of rock pictured was the site of many a historic battle in Chile. The top hosts a museum and several pieces of ancient military hardware. Good viewpoint, but the path to the top is almost straight up.

With it being got as hell here, getting up there was too easy. It's not too bad in the shade, where the temperature is around 74 degrees. But the sun is unbearable. And the path to the top, and everything up there, is lies naked under the sun.

In the city, everyone walks in the shade -- one side of the street is empty, one side is full -- the side with the shade.

The biggest part of Aríca lies north of the big rock. To the south lies this small resort area, which is a little more relaxed.

Stayed in a hostale, somewhere in between a hotel and a hostel (which is more like a dorm party place for young backpackers), run by old French folks. Kind of weird talking in Spanish to someone with a French accent. Especially troubling was when they threw an English word into the middle of a sentence.

The first night, I was talking to the owner. He was saying my Spanish was very good, as a courteous and overly generous business would say to a tourist. A little chit-chat ensued, and I asked why he thought my Spanish was good, as I had only just arrived. He was talking about my e-mail to him requesting a reservation. I was following him pretty well -- and then bam -- he dropped a word that stopped the conversation. I didn´t understand and he couldn´t get around it, so we moved on. I got my key and went to my room.

About 15 minutes later, it hit me. He was saying, as he was speaking Spanish in a French accent, e-Ma-el. I was searching for something in Spanish similar to it, but couldn´t find it. The problem is, they pronounce all the vowels down here. He wasn´t saying e-Ma-el, he was saying e-ma-il, only the i sounds more like an e in Spanish.

It's happened a few times -- English words said with a Spanish accent thrown into the middle of a Spanish sentence knocked me for a loop every time.

On Sunday, the only commerce taking place during the day was the obligatory outdoor market.

Just like Iquique, most of Aríca takes Sunday off. A couple of Internet places are open, a couple little shops and the gas stations. Otherwise, everything else is closed until the restaurants begin to open in the late afternoon.

Unlike Iquique, Aríca has a market about a half-mile long. Nothing but these little tented joints selling all kinds of cheap stuff.

Pretty much spent my time here lying on the beach drinking a cerveza, eating, lying on the beach, touring the market, lying on the beach. It was tough.