North of Pozo Almonte the highway settles into a punishing rhythm that continues most of the way to Arica — not technically difficult, but relentless, dropping into and climbing back out of a series of steep canyons cut into the coastal desert by ancient rivers that no longer flow with any regularity. The road crosses, in sequence, the Quebrada de Camarones, Quebrada de Chiza, Quebrada de Tana, Quebrada de Tiliviche, and finally the Quebrada de Acha closer to Arica — each one a sharp descent to a canyon floor and an equally sharp climb back to the plateau on the far side. The Camarones canyon is the most striking of these to look at from above: at the bottom, cultivated green plots follow the line of the river, a small ribbon of agriculture that stands out sharply against the raw ochre slopes rising on either side — the miradores along the road here are worth a stop for the contrast alone. The Río Camarones eventually reaches the Pacific at Caleta Camarones, a small fishing settlement a short detour off the highway, though the road ahead makes that a stop for another trip.
Along the Quebrada de Chiza, a marked pull-out gives access to the Geoglifos de Chiza — human figures, animals, and geometric forms worked into the hillside by the pre-Columbian cultures who once moved trade caravans through this desert. Geoglyphs like these are found at intervals throughout the Atacama's ancient trade routes, and the working theory is that they served a practical function as much as a symbolic one — waypoints and route markers for travellers crossing country with almost no natural landmarks to navigate by. The Quebrada de Acha, the last of the major canyons before Arica, is by most accounts the starkest of them all — a final reminder of just how little grows in this part of the world before the road delivers you to the one green valley in the entire region.
Arica announces itself as a genuine change in character — Chile's northernmost city, close enough to the Peruvian border that it has long styled itself the "city of eternal spring" for its mild, stable climate compared to the desert just crossed. The city sits at the mouth of the Valle de Azapa, an agricultural oasis fed by a river that, unlike most of its neighbours further south, actually reaches the sea with some reliability, and its position has made it a contested and layered place — Peruvian, then Chilean after the War of the Pacific, with a long history as a port serving Bolivia's landlocked economy as well as Chile's own north. After a full day of driving, the evening is straightforward: find a place to eat by the water, and let tomorrow's border crossing wait until morning.
Deleting this waypoint is permanent and cannot be undone.