Surf's Up!

Photoshootout

Standard -- High Def

"You guys should come up to Iquique (say: "ick-kee-kay") next week and speak at the youth group. There’s a beach there," said Carla, a girl we met last week at church in Calama.

How hard did we have to think? Well, actually, pretty hard. Daniel and Dan had just spent two weeks doing the city thing in Santiago, and they were eager to get back on the bikes. Chris and I had had a good time riding across the desert, and felt strong and ready to head to Bolivia. But Carla’s invitation to meet the kids she works with and hang out on the beach trumped our wanderlust.

During the bus ride from Calama to the coastal town of Iquique, I could only think of one thing: the beach. We don’t get many opportunities to spend time at beaches on this trip. In fact, it has only happened once. Mike, Chris and I had an awesome beach day on the island of Chiloe, but needless to say the trip was too short, and left me longing for more sand-time. My wishes were granted when we decided to take up an invitation to visit Iquique, and give a presentation about our trip to a youth group there. We planned on staying at least three to four days, and while the bus bumped along westward through the desert, I dreamed of reuniting with salty seas and sandy feet.