La Playa Chinchorro

La Playa Chinchorro, or in English, Chinchorro Beach, is a popular beach for several reasons:

A) It's one of the largest beaches in Arica where one can partake in swimming, scuba diving, surfing, body boarding, skodooing, and more.

B) It's the original site where Max Uhle found the Chinchorro mummies. We can totally understand why the Chinchorro liked it so much since it's a beautiful beach and a great retreat. :)

While not the greatest place to go to on the weekends since it really is packed with people, we still had a fun time swimming and being attacked by the waves. Jump when the wave comes is the rule, otherwise you get to enjoy a mouthful of salty water. :P

Oh yeah, and this was just funny:



Christmas in the summer! What a quaint concept. ;)

Baile Folclorica

South American culture has a series of "traditional" dances originating from the Spanish colonial period, and these dances draw upon native and European influences. There are several different styles of these dances, known as Folclorica, and they correspond to holidays and musical styles.

Today we had an opportunity to see a dance troupe perform in the downtown. They did an amazing job at showcasing their craft and the tradition of the art through playing various roles (e.g. a man trying to cut in on a couple dancing and being shooed off by the gentleman of the duo, the wooing of a young girl, etc.) Here are pics and video:

Strike 1, Strike 2, and an Earthquake

We at Globetrotting Monkey Enterprises* are fully aware that we've been slacking off a little these last few weeks so here's a large update of everything that has been happening since we last posted (and we further admit in our slacking off we didn't take any pics, to which we apologize).

Strikes, they're not just in baseball: South America is known for many things: beautiful coastlines, archaeological sites, rich history, fantastic food, llamas, alpacas, and oh, strikes. For the last little while there has been a Teachers Strike going on (yet the students are continuing to go to class for all of you out there wishing you were here right now) and this past week was a National Workers Strike. This latter strike affected all governmental agencies, including but not limited to health care workers, retirement benefits, and the border patrol. The borders weren't closed, but they were a pain to get through. We're quite thankful we did Tacna before the strike occurred. Luckily, that one only lasted a week. The Teacher's Strike, however, continues. Both strikes were peaceful.

Earthquake, or as they say in Chile, "a trembling": Not sure if you've heard or read about it in the newspapers, online, or through the TV, but please disregard any reports of "major" earthquake. Yes, houses shook, dogs and cats barked, and we were all startled, but it wasn't as bad as the news agencies are making it. We, me the cute little monkey and the Bioarch, are fine, albeit exhausted since the earthquake occurred in the middle of the night. We're taking a nap as soon as we're done updating you.

Other than those two big pieces of news, it's tourist season here in Arica so we're meeting lots of people and making some friends along the way. Hello to those new friends and we hope you're enjoying your time in Chile and the updates here.

*Disclaimer: There is no real Globetrotting Monkey Enterprises. We just made that up to sound official and fun. That and we've probably underplayed the exhaustion we're experiencing at the moment. Nightey night!

Post 2 of Two: Conmemoración de los Fieles Difuntos

Conmemoración de los Fieles Difuntos (or "El Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead") is celebrated in all Latin American countries, and it is a celebration which is a mix of Catholicism and traditional beliefs and observes those who have passed away. It is celebrated in conjunction with Halloween and All Saints Day, and often involves picnicking in cemeteries and remembering and celebrating the lives of loved ones who have passed on.

We visited both the local, in town (Arica) cemetery and the one in the valley in San Miguel de Azapa. The atmospheres in both places were vastly different. The city cemetery, which serves mostly city residents, was quiet and somber, with most people sitting next to their loved ones graves and quietly grieving or reflecting. The valley cemetery, which serves mostly valley and hinterland residents, was much more lively and loud. Music was playing by several bands, people were celebrating and remembering the fun times, dancing, drinking beer, providing gifts and food to the deceased, etc. It was an interesting dynamic, particularly in the contrast between city (very Catholic) and the city (the opposite).

This day is a popular topic in Spanish classes, and we had the opportunity to participate and observe the holiday here in San Miguel de Azapa. Here are pics and video from today's events:

(Disclaimer: Applicable permissions were granted for pictures that are posted. In fact, many people asked for their pictures to be taken. And these pictures are only from the Valley celebrations, and not from the city celebrations.)

Post 1 of Two: Tacna, Peru

Hola, chicos y chicas! This weekend was another whirlwind weekend, but first, we have to apologize for not posting last weekend. Monkeys and bioarchs are allowed breaks, right? Well, we took one last weekend. And we made up for it in a big way this weekend: Tacna, Peru; Halloween Party; and Conmemoración de los Fieles Difuntos (aka, "El Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead" in English.) We will only be posting pics from two of the three events (the Halloween pics are posted elsewhere for the viewing pleasure of the party goers only). First...Tacna.

Tacna, Peru, is another boarder town, much like Arica, Chile, but obviously in Peru. It's not necessarily popular on the tourist circuit but it is known for having cheap medical care, books and commercial goods, and good food. We finally got authentic Chinese (YUMMY!) We were going to visit some of the museums in Tacna, which boasts both History and Archaeology Museums amongst others, but sadly everything was closed. So instead we hung out in the downtown doing a little shopping and sight seeing. Here are pics from the trip: