A Walking Tour of Tacna

This route will take the walker from my school, Fe y Alegría, to the nuns´ house, which is where I eat lunch everyday. The walk will take 12-15 minutes to complete.

Head out the front gates of Fe y Alegría in a northeasterly direction. If it´s a clear day, you´ll be able to see snow-capped mountains in the distance!

Cross the road with caution – don´t be fooled by the speed bumps in front of the school! Most drivers will actually veer off the road into the sandy, garbage-strewn shoulder to avoid slowing down while going over the speed bumps.

You will now walk the length of the cemetery, keeping it to your left at all times. As you cross in front of the gates, keep an eye out for young men with empty two-liter bottles of soda. These bottles are filled with small lizards. If you have any ailments or pain, the men will apply dismembered lizards to the ailing spot and wrap it with clean gauze. Twenty-four hours with the dead lizards will cure you (allegedly due to the lizards´ blood). If you´re lucky, you may see one of these men in action. Watch carefully as the live lizard is ripped in two by the careful placements of the thumbnails!

Across the street from the cemetery you will see stall after stall of colorful flowers. These beautiful, fresh flowers are amazingly cheap – a giant bouquet of roses, tulips, and a bird of paradise or two will set you back about $5.

Where the cemetery ends, you will see a wide alleyway on your left. The smell of urine, both fresh and stale, will greet your gag reflex like a picture of a shirtless Justin Bieber. Listen for the sound of tinkling bells coming from the hastily-constructed, black-tarp tents in the alleyway. Rumor has it that these are fortune tellers that can always guarantee a happy ending.

Now turn left at the big intersection. I would tell you the name of the street but it wouldn´t do you any good – there are no street signs. Follow this new road for about seven minutes. You will pass multiple shops and markets that are all selling the same products: ropes, light bulbs, and paint. Keep an eye out for more fortune tellers (happy ending not guaranteed with these women) who are sitting on the right side of the street with small boxes of coca leaves and tarot cards. Also look for the cage of squeaking guinea pigs. Pick out a nice, juicy one for dinner. If you´re squeamish about killing it at home, they´ll do it for you upon purchase!

Do listen carefully to the uncreative harassment of the men along this road. Remember, if you wish to be left alone, you should dress modestly, avert your eyes, walk without swinging your hips, just ignore it, confront them about their disrespect, walk with your students, comfort yourself with the knowledge that the only way to change the systematic oppression of women that is exacerbated by street harassment is to educate young people and reinforce equality from a young age.  

At the stoplight, turn to the right. Listen to the blaring beats of pirated music sold on this corner. You can just hear thousands of American music executives crying with fury.

As you walk along this road, keep in mind the following safety tips:

-          Welding sparks can fly up to five feet

-          Traffic lanes are merely suggestions

-          Each mechanic shop or store is responsible for putting their own sidewalk out front, which means what exists there is really a multi-leveled, hole-laden, ununified concrete slab

-          Tacna receives almost no rain, as it is in a desert, so it is wise to avoid all puddles

-          If the guy spray painting the car out in front of an automotive workshop is wearing a gas mask, you should steer clear of the fumes

When you see the orange and green bank, turn left. Watch out for the workers re-asphalting the road and the dangerously-diverted traffic on this street.

Walk up two blocks past the piles of garbage swarming with flies and the giant trucks unloading tiles and large rocks. Quite suddenly you will find yourself in a calm neighborhood full of bright, cheery houses (albeit the windows are all barred). The tan house just above the park is where the nuns live. It is a quaint, pretty little house amidst the crazy neighborhoods of Tacna.

There is a delicious, hot meal waiting for you, just don´t forget to wash your hands!