Day 4 — The Beach!

Following our escape from Uyuni the previous day to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, we caught an overnight bus to Bahia Inglesa. Bahia Inglesa (literally, “English Bay”) is a beach resort located on the Pacific Ocean near the city of Copiapo, Chile. It’s known for seashell-white sands, good surfing, and turquoise blue waters. In the high season, it’s packed with vacationing Chilenos, but we arrived during autumn.

The Beach is Moving

A week ago last Sunday, we arrived in Iquique, Chile. Iquique is a beach town, one of two in northern Chile — Arica is the other. According to Wikipedia, the town has an interesting history. It was the site of a famous naval battle during the war between Chile and Bolivia-Peru for control of the surrounding territory. As it happens, Chile apparently lost the battle but won the war. This fact has not yet been forgotten in either Peru or Bolivia. For instance, there is a giant statue in La Paz commemorating the defenders of Bolivia’s Litoral Province; it’s in Plaza Aroya, just down the block from my apartment. Moreover, undaunted by the lack of ocean access, the Bolivian military still maintains a navy. Its operations are currently confined to lake Titicaca and various rivers in the country, but you never know…. (Actually, given that there are pirates in Saskatchewan, a naval force on Titicaca doesn’t seem quite so odd.)