I think my body is especially adapted to hot, humid weather.
Ya, I am pretty sure it is. Do you know why? Because I like it. I miss it. Up
until now, I have been, at minimum, over 7,200 feet above sea level located in
a mountainous desert. Don’t get me wrong, it is pretty cool (puns ALWAYS
intended). A change of scenery is always great; I just do not think my body
knows how to handle it.
Tacna is located further south; however, it is much more
tropical. The sea level is practically the same as Starkville, Mississippi. I
can handle that. The mornings are foggy, the air is thick, the colors are
bright, the streets are clean, the AIR is clean and the seafood is great. I can
handle this place. Not to mention the Cultural here is INCREDIBLE. The teachers
were extremely interested in ways to improve their student’s English along with
theirs alike. The administration was very organized and things went as planned.
You have to realize that this does not happen often. Things as simple as mere
scheduling can easily go array, so when an entire trip goes perfectly as
planned, you tend to get excited.
We arrived in Tacna on a Friday. Like I said, it is a border
town to Chile. Well, I think I said that. If not, there it is. It is on the
border of Chile. During the middle of May, Phil went to a small surfing town
called Arica. After hearing of his wondiferous time in Arica, we decided to
return. I mean, Phil was returning. Alex and I were going for the first time. After
quickly checking into our hostel and having a few words with the great owner of
Sunny Days (his name is Ross. he is a Kiwi.), we made our way to the beach. The
beach… Sometimes you really do not know how badly you miss something until you
see it again. It was like I was nearly numb of all feeling for going on two
months. Then I saw the Pacific. Then I saw the waves. Then I felt the sand.
Then I smelled the ocean. Then I tasted the ocean. Reinvigoration. Lots of it.
The Chilean beer to follow was not too bad either.
The next morning we rose early to attempt to catch some
waves. Well, we did catch some waves. No pictures. Sorry. But all of us surfed
and paddled and floated and said nothing. It was overcast and the swells were not
bad. Little choppy, really. The rest of the day we rambled around downtown with
some of our new friends from the hostel. I played like… the tenth wheel.
Frieken traveling couples. Always being cute and stuff. Drinks and sun and
random weddings (we kind of crashed a wedding, y’all) and silly pictures and
beach food. I did stump the hell out of my toe. IT NEARLY
FELL OFF! So I may be being a bit dramatic. Speaking of stumbling (or stumping), we did manage to stumble into a Chilean festival that was performing a traditional Chilean tribal dance. Wicked. This was a Sunday. 
Monday… we called in sick to catch the morning swell.
WHOOPS. Not whoops. Totally intentional. Once again, no pictures. Only
memories. Good memories. We returned to Tacna later that day to finish our
afternoon classes and conversation circles. Man, Tacna was great. We left Tacna
Tuesday afternoon to Ilo, Peru.
Ilo is on the Southern Coast of Peru. It’s a sleepy fishing
town. I like it. A LOT. Seaside of things.
After this week, we head back to Arequipa. The adventure is
slowing. Good thing that after Arequipa, I will be hiking through the Andes
Mountains for nearly a week and then up to Machu Picchu. BOOM.
Jonathon
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