Iquique, Chile

It was only a four hour bus ride from Arica to Iquique, much better than our 15 hour ride from Peru. We are in the Atacama Desert which is the driest desert in the world, so the view was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see.

Our hostel was right by the beach and just minutes from downtown. We walked all over the city and then decided to take a break on the beach. I grabbed a bottle of wine and had a little siesta. 

 

the Pacific Ocean is even better when you can take your pants off

I missed the circus in Arica, but heard there was a circus here too, so I was running all over town yelling "¿DÓNDE ESTÁ EL CIRCO?" Finally someone answered me and we made our way down the beach. I felt like a little kid when I saw the yellow and red tents.

is that a Transformer?! 

oooooo! a Mexican circus!

So... the circus was totally lame. There were no animals, no freaks, and no motorbike driving in circles in a cage, but there were silly clowns and acrobats and a man that rode a tiny bicycle and this... 

the world's most ghetto Bumblebee!

we weren't supposed to take photos, but I tried really hard to get a snap of the trapeze

I still fully enjoyed the circus, but I think the bottle of wine helped a little. Afterwards, we met up with two guys we'd met on the way into Chile and went to dinner downtown. We wandered over to the casino before heading back to the hostel. Gambling is extra confusing in Spanish. Tyler blew $20,000! (That's Chilean Pesos... it's like $40 USD)

I went to the beach early the next morning. I could have sat there all day, but Tyler wanted to wander into town and then go to this big mall we'd been hearing about. He absolutely loves shopping malls-I don't understand. I had no idea I'd spend so much time in malls while traveling, but luckily the walks on the way are always beautiful.

Baquedano Street (maybe it's busier during the summer) 

 

We stopped at a little beach on the way that was COVERED in shells. There wasn't even any sand, just shells. I was in heaven. Again, I could have stayed here all day and been completely happy. I wanted to fill my bag with beautiful shells, but figured they probably wouldn't survive the trip, so I just took photos instead.

Then we went to the mall. I didn't take any pictures. Don't worry, you aren't missing anything.