Chile: Skye Dickson (Food in Santiago)

Program: SIT Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment, Spring

Arica is quite unique because it is a dessert, but is right on the ocean and has the saying “the city of eternal spring” which reflects its constantly warm weather. I have been here three months and it has yet to rain. However, with this sort of weather you would think that it would be hard to grow any sort of fruits or veggies but close to Arica there are two valleys called Valle de Azapa and Valle de Lluta. These valleys have water that comes down from the mountains which makes it easy to grow all sorts of things which makes fresh food easily accessible.

In Arica, it is possible to have whatever fruit or veggies you want no matter the season and it is always quality. Also, being next to the ocean means that seafood is plentiful. I have really enjoyed ceviche, which is a cold dish in which a variety of seafood is prepared in a light lime and cilantro sauce.

It is so delicious, a bit different depending on the type of seafood inside. My favorite comes with salmon, reineta (a local whitefish), shrimp and squid. I have loved all the fresh fruit and been eating so much variety because it is cheap and plentiful. I had tried a pink dragonfruit but I tried a yellow dragonfruit with a white flesh and it was much sweeter.

The grapes here are definitely my favorite though because they are so fresh yet still so crunchy and big. I am a pescatarian so the cuisine in Arica has been amazing