Naked Mountains, Mummies and Baby Llamas

Week 3 adventure didn't disappoint!!   This week for our "Tourist Day" we drove up through the Azapa Valley, visited the Chinchorro Mummies (the oldest mummies in the world), drove across the mountain into the Lluta Valley and had a visit from a llama.  It was a very fun day.  As we were driving through the mountains and the valleys my brother pointed out something that I guess I had recognized but didn't really know how to express.  He said that at home we are used to seeing mountains with trees and growth on them and that its still kinda weird to see mountains with nothing on them...hence the phrase, "Naked Mountains" was born!

Geoglyphs

   I thought these were rather neat seeing as how they are ancient works of art that are believed to have been constructed sometime between 600 - 1500 AD.  It just fascinates me that these works of art are still around and naturally preserved.  

Chinchorro Mummies

   What a mind blowing fact that the mummies that I was able to view in person have been dated back to as early as 7000BC.  When you think of mummies you automatically think of Egypt, or at least I do! But the earliest Egyptian mummy was dated around 3000 BC...just to put this into perspective!!  It was such as interesting thing to be able to see.

Azapa Valley

   Known for the unique olives of Azapa.

Lluta Valley

   The Lluta river flows right through the valley which makes it ideal for agriculture for the region.  The river is fed by the rainy season in Bolivia and empties into the Pacific Ocean in Arica.  The Lluta valley is also home to the candelabra cactus, we actually parked along the river and since it was dried up this time of year we were able to walk out and get some pictures of a cactus close up.  We also ventured out to the village of Molinos where we found a pretty little church and a cute little man herding sheep.

River bed, black spot on left side of photo is our car! 

The Baby Llama.

   As many of you have already seen on Facebook, I had an interesting encounter with a baby llama.  It all started sweet enough...Here is a photo reel of how quickly things unfolded...

Then the sweet Llama went away momentarily... then came back.  

They told me "Karla, kneel down beside him..."

He bit my arm...and this photo captured my raw 

emotion of how my brain processed what was actually happening.

I guess he got offended by my facial expressions and laughs because he decided to walk away... 

poor little llama.

Hot Water From Around the World

If my travel in South America has taught me anything, it is that I take advantage of how we come by hot water in the States.

When I was in Ecuador they used electrical contraptions referred to as "Widow Makers" appropriately named because if you touched them, you would be electrocuted and you would die.

The above photo is the widow maker, it heats the water as it passes through the shower head.  Since water is an excellent conductor, if you touch it, you die.  

Here in Chile, the process is a bit safer.  It works much like a gas stove or gas logs.  You light the pilot light using a match...

Then turn on the water and the heater ignites, heating the water as it passes through the lines.  

Needless to say, having continual hot water is nice but having to light a fire every time you need hot water can get rather old!  I'm not complaining though, I just happy to have the option of hot showers :-)

Playa Corazones

Today we took a "tourist day" and did some sightseeing.  We went to this remote mountainous beach area that was just simply amazing.  We were hiking along the side of the mountain, down the coastline, and I spent the entire time simply speechless and in awe of our mighty Creator.  Today was definitely one of my favorites of all time and I hope to be able to spend some more time here!  I'll let the photos speak for themselves!

Sea Lions!!!!

1 week down

I have been in Chile now for 7 days and I have enjoyed every single day here...

Here's some of what i've learned the past 7 days:

- Chileans love sandwiches and they love hot dogs.  To those of you that know me best, hot dogs aren't one of my favorite foods.  To be honest this is not really what I expected when I came to Chile but it works.  The Chilean sandwich typically is either a hot dog or thinly sliced beef topped with tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, avocado, and your choice of specialty sauce.  They have a variety of sauces and the selection varies by the food vendor you visit but the only one i've tried is called salsa verde which is a cilantro sauce.  It's rather tasty!  

- Chileans also love rotisserie chicken.  Yes, I said rotisserie chicken.  I had rotisserie chicken for lunch the first day I was here and I didn't think anything about it besides that it was an easy lunch.  But since I have found that it seems more of a phenomenon.  While visiting the agro, which is the farmers market, there were two rotisserie vendors, side by side, selling chickens.  Walking through downtown I have seen numerous signs for "pollo asado" with numerous chickens turning in the cooker and people lining up to buy them.  I don't mind this at all, I also like chicken, and I'm relieved that I've not been met with many strange foods upon my arrival in Chile.  

- Arican's are proud of the history of their town.  Arican's love the Morro and they love the mummies.  The Morro de Arica is the site where the Chileans defeated Peruvian forces to win Arica from Peru.  The new people that we have met here have always asked us if we have seen the Morro or if we have been to the Morro.  In all reality, you cannot be in Arica and not see the Morro.  It is a huge rock mountain cliff that jets out toward the Pacific Ocean.  Below is a picture of the Morro.  

The battle that was won here actually occurred on June 7, 1880 and it known as the Battle of Arica.  It's a huge holiday for Arica and actually as I sit here and type these words I can hear cannons firing and trucks driving by the house with people shouting victoriously.  There will be fireworks at midnight as part of the celebration to usher in June 7 so I'm hoping to be able to stay awake long enough to enjoy the fireworks :-)  Now onto the mummies, the Chinchorro mummies are the oldest mummies in the world, dating back to 7020 BC.  I haven't had a chance yet to visit the museum where the mummies are housed but I will and I'm sure I'll have lots more to say!  

- The sound of feral cats running around on the roof of the house sounds oddly similar to someone trying to break into the house.  I have learned to tune it out and not freak out so I worry that upon my return to the states I will think that actual burglars are just feral cats...

- Desert winters aren't as bad as I thought they would be.  It gets rather chilly at night and the days are pretty short but after the sun burns off the morning haze, the weather is pretty perfect :-)

- Chileans really want to learn English.  I have been able to be at the children's home for one afternoon so far.  It was a tad bit overwhelming and the language barrier makes it hard to communicate with the children at times but to my surprise one of the first things asked of me was to talk to them in English...because the kids thought it sounded funny.  I guess its the small things :)  After my first experience at a Chilean church I was cornered by a lady asking if I could teach her daughter English and I was also approached by a young gentleman who was currently taking English courses at the university and he told me that he wanted to talk to me but that he was shy and nervous about making mistakes while speaking in English.  I thought it was rather precious!  

I'm excited to continue learning more about this beautiful city!!

  

Meet Maddie

My brother and sister-in-law have a dog named Maddie. Not really sure what kind of dog she is, besides being a mutt.  They acquired her from a gentleman that makes bamboo furniture here in Arica and I had never met her before my arrival last week.

As most of you know, I had to put my sweet Jasmine to sleep in February and ever since then I have seriously missed the companionship of a furry four-legged friend.  When I arrived in Chile last Thursday night Maddie greeted me just like she had known me her whole life, happy pee and everything!  Maddie has quickly became my canine pal here in Arica, let me show you what we've been up to...

This is Maddie as she normally greets me when I walk through the gate...happy and tail wagging.

She always comes to hang out with me when I'm working on school work...

But she usually always ends up expressing her distaste for higher education...

She is always quick to find me when I'm eating a snack

And we both enjoy our evening walks at the beach.  

Maddie goes for the birds, I go for the sunsets.

I look forward to many more evening walks, carrot snacks, tennis ball fetches and bird watching with Ms. Maddie.  :-)

Whaaaat???

Today I was informed that if I had a medical emergency in Arica that it would be best not to call an ambulance because it would take them 45 minutes to get me and the ambulance drivers aren't medically trained.  

Not really sure how I feel about this.

The things I've learned so far...

I've been in Chile now for about 4 days and I wanted to take a moment to share some of the things I have learned.

The greeting from men to women is a kiss on the cheek...I'm glad I witnessed this during my 10 hour layover in the Santiago airport so that I knew the man at the grocery store I met while there with my brother wasn't just being forward.  Crisis averted.

Even though your total at the grocery store may seem absurd, don't have a heart attack, it's not as bad as it seems.

I live 2 blocks from the beach and Chile is the most earthquake prone country so naturally it's a Tsunami danger zone...but at least I know my way out.

Take two steps out of the city and this is what you see...

But if you turn around toward the coast you'll see this...

Grilling is mostly left to the men...much like in the United States.

And Arica produces some of the best sunsets...

Stay tuned for more insights...