I ended up crossing into Chile pretty much right away to get to the city of Arica, known for it's surfing culture. The city is beautiful with the unique distinction of being the driest city in the world. They average .03 inches of rain per year. There is an oasis and bird sanctuary that I've yet to check out, but that's on the list for the next day or so. I've been here for the last few days staying in a surf hostal and getting to know the lay of the land. Of coarse the first place the owner takes me to surf is one of the gnarliest waves I've ever seen in person, but trying not to look like a pussy I paddled out anyway. It's a reef break so the paddle out and return is pretty easy. Within about 15 minutes I was positive that I was WAY over my head and yelled to Kurt (I was sitting on my board way outside the break) that I was going in. After lamenting to him that i was from Colorado and by his measure probably not even considered a surfer he steered me towards some beaches and waves that were more my speed. I then got online and found out that the wave he took me to is considered the Pipeline of Chile and continuously F's dudes up. Whatever.
It was a very relaxing Christmas with other travelers and myself cooking a great meal and drinking booze. Overall staying in Arica for a while has been a nice change of pace from driving so much. I don't really have a schedule to keep other than being in the city of San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina for the Dakar Rally the 3rd. So a few more days here in northern Chile taking in the surf and such then it's off to San Pedro de Atacama for New Years. Here's a pic of the border and my Xmas dinner of a couple of shark steaks, excellent Guac, salad, and all kinds of stuff.
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