Arica

I liked Arica. It had a nice feel for it. I stopped here twice on my ship and wished we could have had it as a regular port. I didn’t do too much here, but there are things to do. There is some geoglyphs and a nice national park which you can do as a tour from the town. There is a shopping street with some nice restaurants that are inexpensive.

I posted a parcel from here and it got home ok. Everything in Chile goes airmail. You must take parcels to the lower part of the post office (nr McDonalds) for customs clearance and pay for it there.

Please be careful when choosing your tour company to take you places in Arica. My ship was the one which had the people die ( in March 2006) when they veered of the road down a cliff (12 dead). The tour company (I am sorry, I don’t know the name) was uninsured.

When I was visiting there was a nice handicraft market in the square outside the port. Cheap stuff made from alpaca fur. Good quality.

I went here for a few days with my exchange student friends. We really all loved it. Make sure if you go here you visit Lago Chungará. The beaches are ok. It is a very lively city.

Arica is a conveniently located city near the border of Chile and Peru. From what I hear, its where Peruvians near the border go when they want to go on day-trip vacation. The beaches here are nice, but not spectacular.