Beach and Belly Dancing

Today was awesome! We hadn't been to the beach in a while but today was a good day to do it. Before we left we had to go crazy with the sunscreen because the last time in Bahia Inglesa we were fried. Helen and I both rented boogey boards, but the water took some time getting used to: a) the water was freezing, and b) there were tons of jellyfish. The "medusas" didn't sting but they felt really weird on your bare legs. Finally, I went out there and rode a few small waves in. About five minutes later I went out with Dad and rode some huge ones. The waves were totally over my head but it was fantastic. Before I turned into an ice cube I had to get out of the water and dry off. We played ball to warm me up and then headed back to the hotel to take showers, change, then go to the main plaza.

Iquique was having a really cool festival where all different countries from all over the world were participating. The countries were: France, Itally, Argentina, Columbia, Peru, Brazil, Saudia Arabia y Ecuador. Every country had a booth on the Plaza. In the booth were things you buy from that country and foods that country ate. We had fondue from France, filled potatoes from Columbia, pizza from Italy and granizados from Peru. The iceys probably weren't from Peru but they were good.

In front of the theater was a big outside stage where the countries showed there national dances. That night was all Arabian. At first they showed some of the important dances, but then they moved on to the story of 1001 nights. The clothing was beautiful. Most of the women wore floor length skirts of long genie pants made of silk. The tops were usually bikinis except they had beads hanging down until about the stomach. The dances were really cool except I'm not sure I would call it ballet. Everyone was barefoot except the men. I wanted to stay until it ended, but Mom, Dad and Helen got tired and we had to leave. After a long and good day it was easy to go to sleep.

I love Iquique!