Chile Iquique 伊基克智利 – 4/2017 (16)

9-11/4/2017. Chile is the longest country in the world, more than 4,000 kilometers long narrow strip of land facing the Pacific. Journeying south should provide a feast of beaches. Arica whets my appetite for more. Who can have too many beaches, right? I left Arica this morning for the next beach.

On the right and on the left, there was hardly any grass, only the blue sky adding color to the otherwise dull and faded color of the desert landscape. Miles after miles of scorched earth, yet no less exciting. It is natural, it is what it is, smeared but unspoiled.

Toward the end of the four-hour bus ride, the bus turned the last mountain, negotiating the last curve, and there, suddenly below us, appeared the long coastline and the welcoming sight of the sea! At the end of the long desert crossing, I did not get an oasis—I received the sea! We finally arrived in Iquique.

I checked into my hotel at 4 p.m. and excitedly headed straight to the beach. As I headed out of the city, separate lanes for cars and runners appeared alongside the beach. Then, along the long and narrow beach, there were children’s playgrounds, long benches for the elderly and all, a skating rink, a skateboarding park and other recreational and sports amenities. The whole beach had been earmarked for the people, not hotels, restaurants, or shops. These have been ostracized to the far side to keep the desert company. When the sun set, the lights turned on, and people came out to stroll, jog, cycle, rollerblade, socialize, or simply to enjoy the sea. The long strip of the beach became a giant arena of rest and recreation, open to all. I have been to many beaches around the world. This one stood out as one that has been returned to the masses, the whole community invited.

Is it a seaside city, or a desert city? It is a city flanked by the sea on one side and the desert on the other, as though they are tightening their grips. It is a city sandwiched between a rock and a hard place. I sat on the beach to enjoy the sea, when I looked behind, I saw the barren brown landscape of the desert looming large and encroaching ever closer to engulf the city.

I only stayed a night in Iquique and planning to depart at noon the next day. During the brief stay, I was left with many gestures of the people’s extra-friendliness. At a tour agency, three staff there took time to offer information and pointers for my next destination, even though they knew they would not be compensated for their time; at a hotel front desk, the counter staff served me her own bottled water and chatted through her lunch break; as I stopped by a restaurant to enquire about the menu, the lady boss of the restaurant took time to patiently explain the Spanish menu. We all need refreshment, more so in a land so thirsty, hospitality, in a surrounding so inhospitable.  

9-11/4/2017 – 智利超过四千公里长，是世界最长国家。狭长土地面向太平洋，我大旅巴南下该会尝到海滩盛宴。阿里卡是开胃菜，我今早离开阿里卡, 天啊，四小时路程，四面寸草不生的地貌，只有蔚蓝无云的天空給这黯然的画面添加了颜色。虽然是没生命沙漠，我还是全程享受这风景。因为祂是原汁原味的大自然，未被人糟蹋。

一路南下是无穷尽的沙漠，最后翻了个山，拐了个弯，海岸突然出现在山脚下，四小时的枯黄换成深蓝海水，眼前一亮，终于抵达伊基克 （Iquique）。下午四点入住酒店后，抓紧时间马上行动，到海滩视察。离开市中心，沿着狭长海滩一路有个别的自行车道和跑步跑道。儿童游乐场，沙滩长凳，滑轮场，规划都考虑到每一年龄群众，整个海岸线就是群众活动区， 充满生气。我跑遍多国海滩， 这海滩以人为本，几乎把老百姓都请到海边了。做得很棒。

住了一晚，中午又上马离开伊基克 。这是个有个性小城。基本就是給沙漠驱逐到海边。虽給沙漠逼着，还挺凉快。诸多美丽回忆更在于人们都特别友善：在旅行社问票时两三位争先的提供建议，虽已明知没钱赚；一位女餐厅老板娘对着我笑眯眯的耐心解释西语菜谱；一位酒店前台给我盛自己私用的矿泉水；餐厅服务员用整个用餐时间跟我长聊。大多数是女孩，当然，男的也很友善，只是女的比较亲切，对入侵外来物种这么友好我的确感动。