Chilean Desert Wind

The barren earth, dry as a baked bone that has sat in the sun for a millennia, stands humbly still as the ever-present wind scours the surface clean of every pebble, every grain of sand, and there you sit like a stone. Your being seems to loose its body in this tumultuous sea of air, as if the fibers of your soul are exposed once the body's senses are reduced and forced to retreat by the power of nature. Chile, is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. The shape of Chile is a distinctive ribbon of land 4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide. In regards to the geographical northernmost and southernmost points of Chile, it is the longest country in the world, boasting a varying climate, and includes the 5th lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern and central Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Mapuche inhabited southern Chile. Chile declared its independence from Spain on 12 February 1818.