A land where desert meets the ocean, the north of this most diverse and fascinating country is occupied by the Atacama desert and the northernmost city of Arica. On one side the Andes mountains, on the other the Pacific ocean...and about as different as you can get from the glaciers, lakes and forests in the southern half of Chile!

A barren, coloured landscape of mighty sand dunes provides the backdrop to mile after mile of flat sandy coastline and a deep blue ocean. The seafront offers clear water coves, lagoons, great surf and an assortment of birdlife including huge pelicans. Nestled between these fascinating sand dunes and inviting waters is the dull looking town of Arica and it's low corrugated roofed, shed like dwellings. Due to it's total contrast to the other most spectacular landscapes we have seen, the area was intriguing and we immediately took a liking to it!

The Atacama desert stretches almost a third of the Chile coastline from La Serena (a town just north of Santiago) as far north as Peru. Copiapo in the southern part of the desert was put on the map recently as the place where the Chilean miners were trapped and later dramatically rescued! The desert is officially the driest place on earth with Arica boasting a whopping average rainfall of 0.1cm! Some parts of the Atacama desert have not seen any (that's none,0, zero) rainfall in 400 years! I asked Carolin, a lady at the hostel when she last saw rain... She returned a blank expression and shrugged her shoulders..."sometime last year", she replied. Everyone in the town loved it, "it was different"!

Not wanting to give a Geography lesson but at least one of you (you know who you are) will be interested to know why the Atacama desert is so dry?

Research suggests a phenomenon called 'rainshadow' is responsible for the low levels of rainfall in the Atacama region. The warm, moist tropical air, that blows on the prevailing easterly winds and drops a lot of rain on the South American rainforest, gets stuck on the eastern side of the Andes. The altitude of the Andes is so high that the air cools, condenses and snows/rains on the mountains. As the air descends on the other side of the mountain range (Atacama desert side) it warms, holding in its moisture, preventing rain from falling to the ground below, thus creating desert conditions.

It is hot but certainly not the sort of heat you would expect in a desert. Sunny yes, but the nice sea breeze makes it rather pleasant. Average daily temperatures range from 0-25 degrees C so warm by day but once the sun went down I found myself a little chilly in bed with just 2 sheets (little did we realise there was a blanket on top of the wardrobe!).

With this in mind we thought it a safe bet to leave the jackets at home during our explorations around Arica. There is a definite Peruvian/Bolivian feel to the streets with more market stalls than the western style shopping districts we have seen in other parts of Chile and Argentina. It is more the South America we were expecting than the surprisingly ordered and refined Southern half of the continent. Having said that, almost hidden away in the middle of the market streets is a modern pedestrianised shopping area which had a contrasting appeal to it. Cafes and bars line the streets and being a duty free town the prices again resemble Asia more than Southern Chile.

The large port dominates the southern half of the city with a constant stream of trucks heading backwards and forwards along the main coastal road. Acting as the major sea access for Bolivian mining exportation (an 8hr drive over the mountains) and with the Peru border close by it is an important seaside port. Judging by the large numbers of men in the bars in the afternoon, complete with high visibility jackets and hardhats, it isn't difficult to figure out where many jobs come from. Essential employment of the region also lies in mining it's mineral resources of copper, sodium chloride, sodium nitrate and iodine salts.

I can hear you asking 'how does a place like that get water?'

It's ok, because I asked that very same question. The answer is there are 2 rivers nearby that collect rainwater in the Andes and bring it down to the city. I also read that water is gained from desalination of the seawater.

Perhaps we didn't do enough research in the couple of months we had before our trip but maybe more likely that we are making it up as we go along, but I can't say I expected to be in a place quite like Arica in northern Chile. It further enhances our opinion of Chile as a country where you really can see it all.

Tourism isn't big here but with such a laid back attitude to the city, it is the sort of place you use as a stopover but could stay for a week. The papers are thin on local news, a weather forecast pointless and life is a constant relaxed, sunny Groundhog day, Carolin told us the evacuation for the recent Tsunami was exciting as "different is good".... We couldn't have summed up Arica in 3 better words ourselves!

Sadly we can't stay any longer as we have a flight to make in La Paz in three days, so it's back on the bus in the morning. This time 4 hours (halfway to La Paz) inland and up into the higher altitude of the Lauca National Park in the Andes. It promises to have us literally gasping at the thin air in admiration of the landscape.....