Summer in Antofagasta

If I ever had doubts, worries or regrets about moving to Antofagasta (i.e., the middle of the driest place on earth in a foreign country where I gave birth), spending a summer here has changed my outlook completely.  I now live in a great little beach town with literally hundreds of beaches at my disposal to explore and enjoy.  Any day of the week I choose.  We have a gorgeous view of the ocean from our backyard that I get to stare at basically all the time I am home, and best of all, we have made friends to enjoy all this beach time (and every now and then adults' nights) with.  Now, don't get me wrong, with a baby and a toddler, I'm not going to the beach as often as I would if it was just Steve and I, but it's there.  I see it every day.  I pass by it on my way to the grocery store.  I see families playing in the surf, camping, surfing, paragliding, working out, and snorkeling along the beach.  It's so relaxing.  I've never lived close to water before, and I'm afraid I won't be able to go back!  We are so spoiled, and I am so thankful.

Some interesting things I've noticed (and because I've never lived along the ocean I have no idea if these things are unique to Antofagasta, to Chile or to any beach town) are:

- Camping is a huge thing.  I see tents everywhere along the coast (except on the two public, maintained beaches).  In fact, along the beach closest to my house, there is a HUGE camp with a large truck of agua and even a full-size trampoline with the netted side.  It's like a compound.  I was a little confused by this, but my local friends have assured us it's just what families do for vacation here.  They go camping by the beach for a week or a weekend at a time.  Seems like a good idea to me!  However, the huge water tanker is a little extreme in my book.

- No matter what time of day, the local public beach is ALWAYS packed.  It's not a very big beach, but it's well-maintained (i.e., the trash and dog poop are actually picked up).  I have passed by there literally morning, afternoon and night, and you will always see a rainbow of umbrellas in all open space.  It's incredible.

- Enormous ramada tents are essential for good beach bbqs (and really anytime you want to have a good shade for a baby). This is basically a large square canvas with all open sides. The sun here is pretty intense, so having shade really is a must, and the best thing about these large tents is that you can have a place for sand castle play as well as an area for tummy time.  I am regretting not taking more pics (although camera/phone near sand and water is not a great idea)!

- As great as the beaches are here, they are not well maintained (except for the aforementioned 2 public beaches).  People leave trash, bottles, clothes, really anything you could imagine all over the place, and it is literally NEVER picked up.  There are years and years worth of trash on the beaches here, and it's pretty disheartening.  One of the main goals when going to a beach is to find a good place with little trash.  There are also many jellyfish and sea urchins, so you always have to wear some form of foot protection.  Lucky for us, Sadie doesn't want to go swimming in the water yet.  She just likes watching the waves come in and go out, getting the tops of her feet wet.  It's adorable.

So, there you go! I will try to post some pics soon.  In summary, if you want to come visit, you won't be disappointed (especially if you come in January or February!)