Weeknote 77

Arica and into Peru

• Late evening on Monday we arrived by plane in Chile’s northernest city, Arica to visit Mamá.
• Enroute to her home by taxi I was quite surprised to find ourselves on part of the Pan American Highway which turned out to be no more than an urban dual carriageway with frequent speed bumps and pedestrian crossings.
• On our first full day in Arica we headed for a delicious seafood lunch by the Pacific at Restaurante Maracuyá.
• Arica’s downtown felt somewhat stuck in timewarp and difficult to navigate, particularly in a car with such narrow streets and chaotic traffic.
• There didn’t seem to be many good restaurants or coffee shops there, but there were some slightly more polished and touristy spots near the beach with better options.
• Wednesday we’d dinner at Rayú Restaurante including Pisco Sours custom made in front of us and then some incredible fusion Peruvian/Italian seafood dishes.
• Thursday we took the single-coach train from Arica to Tacna across the border in Peru. The train operates once per day in each direction so we made sure to buy tickets in advance from the station the day before. The journey was quite fun including the final stretch which passes along the roadway through downtown Tacna.
• Tacna, albeit a relatively poor place, had its own charm and I felt quite excited to be visiting another South American on my first trip here.
• We headed for the food market in Tacna for fresh fruit juice which was a great experience until a plumber came along to investigate the market’s sewage pipes adjacent, pong!
• Tacna has its own railway museum which was surprisingly well curated and seemed quite contemporary. There was an in-depth explanation of the country’s railway history and lots of old equipment and trains to see, some from the UK.
• Our Chilean SIM cards didn’t include internet access in Peru so we were reliant on asking a local taxi driver for restaurant recommendations. Thankfully we chanced upon a knowledgeable taxi driver who took us to El Cebillano for the best ceviche in town.
• We returned by bus to Arica and thankfully there were minimal queues on the border. I had my passport stamped for exit and entry without any hassle.
• Friday we had a chance to head out of Arica to see the oldest mummies in human history at Museo Arqueológico San Miguel de Azapa.
• Sunday was rather relaxed with a harbour boat tour in Arica and then lunch in one of the seafood restaurants there. The Chilean version of ceviche wasn’t quite as varied as the Peruvian one but still tasty albeit too big a portion for me.