Vulture peninsula
With our legs relaxed we decided to (at last) take a walk down to Arica´s sea front, dominated by a huge lump of rock which is the northernmost part of Chile’s share of the Andean foothills. High above us the vultures and other sea birds circled as we slowly ambled along the promenade towards a peninsula reaching out into the impressive Pacific swell.
Stopping off at the neck of the peninsula to view the crashing waves hurling themselves onto the man-made jumble of concrete sea defences below, we recoiled as a mist of sea spray showered us with dirty foam (and most likely sewage) from far below. Taking refuge a little way back out of the dirty spray we were approached by a young American guy with rucksacks who’d just leapt from a Lima bus (only 1200 km away!!!) and was beginning his own little adventure down towards Chile’s Patagonia. He asked what we’d been up to and we briefly shared with him our highlights, before bidding him farewell as he headed off into town to try to sort out the next leg of his journey. We were to meet up with “Joe” (named changed to protect identity!) later, although neither of us suspected it at the time.
Out across the thin peninsula we walked, flagging in the heat and constantly avoiding anything overhead such as a lampost or Royal Palm, for fear of being drenched in the almost constant stream of s··t that was being deposited by the big, fat ugly birds perched on them. The road surface beneath each perch was bleached white by these waterfalls of guano and we did well to avoid any mishaps.
We sat for a moment or two on one side of the peninsula watching local holiday makers bathe amongst the rock pools and a couple of surfers attempting to make something of the quietening swell. Large hulks of fishing trawlers passed the end of the peninsula with a trail of sea birds swooping down on them, and if it wasn’t for the foul-looking ocean around us it would have been really nice.
A wander around the top of the headland and we spied a throng of vultures taking turns to disect another dead bird’s entrails; the smell was obscene and we moved quickly for fear of contributing to their meal ourselves.
And then it was vack to Arica, our walk over and the legs tested out again (along with the guts). We stopped for a quick drink at one of the many street-side cafes lining Arica’s main pedestrianised boulevard, at a table next to three guys enjoying a good drink. Little did we know we’d still be sat here a few hours later……..
Tags: Chilean moments
mihai