Where the desert meets the sea.
The 'Hertz' crews had a rather frustrating morning in Arica as we were unable to leave before we had a notarised paper to enable us to get into Argentina. Sow, slow, slow was the order of the day. In the meantime we had a trying day lying by the pool! At first, it was not going to be ready until the next day which would have meant some serious catching up then,at around 3.30, Jose triumphantly cried out that the papers were ready! We all managed to leave in about 5 minutes flat, having all been enjoying an afternoon snooze.
Our route took us along the PanAmerican, mostly. Serious desert. The Atacama is the driest place on earth. The scenery was quite dramatic though, mostly. Little traffic, a good road, totally arid with not a single sign of life. The main feature of the journey was a constant supply of memorials for the poor souls who didn't make it and went to meet their maker on this lonely, desolate stretch of road. The memorials, a constant feature throughout Latin America, are a poignant reminder of the danger lurking around every bend.
On our approach to Iquique, our home for the night, it became much busier and rather horrid, quite frankly. It became scarred with the scourge of the modern world: plastic. The area's reason for being is nitrate mining. Iquique is actually a large port and is billed as 'Chile's premier beach resort' God help Chile! The entrance to the city is deeply depressing, a total mess of shacks and rubbish. Then, very dramatically, there is a 7km drop down to the huge city beneath. All high rise but with a real touch of the Wild West about it.
Today has been a 500kms drive to the cute village of San Pedro de Atacama. A fabulous journey, I thought. Mr.S. does not like desert as much as me but conceded it was deeply impressive. Utterly, utterly arid, with rapidly changing vistas. The early part of our route took us along the miserable coast that had a slightly menacing feel to me. Once we turned left all changed and the grandeur began.
We went past the largest open cast copper mine in the world: Quique - the main stay of Chile's economy. We tried to get in, to no avail. But, honestly, why would they let us in? 20,000 people are employed there. Most lived, until 2007, near the entrance to the mine but, then, copper was discovered under the houses and so everyone was relocated to a town a couple of kms away. It was disappointing not to be able see the massive crater of the mine. It is 4.3 kms long, 3 kms wide and over 900 metres deep. Imagine!
Che Guevara visited the mine on his famous motorcycle tour of South America when he was a medical student. Apparently, it was while talking with a local communist there that his political views and idealism were shaped.
We came across poor Stanley who was getting a little overheated, but was on his way again after a little rest and a cool off. We have climbed up to 3,000 metres again today. So it is a little tough on the cars. Poor Jorge's Merc has retired after a nasty accident yesterday. He will join the red pick up Hertz crew now. We are growing!
Shortly afterwards, the vista changed yet again and we were parallel to the Andes and had a mesmerising view of snowy capped mountains whilst we were in the heart of the desert. It was captivating. Our home for the next two days is in a fabulous hotel, think New Mexico chic. I am typing this on a lovely terrace, with an ice cold corona and looking towards a snow topped volcano. Eat your heart out!
Our route took us along the PanAmerican, mostly. Serious desert. The Atacama is the driest place on earth. The scenery was quite dramatic though, mostly. Little traffic, a good road, totally arid with not a single sign of life. The main feature of the journey was a constant supply of memorials for the poor souls who didn't make it and went to meet their maker on this lonely, desolate stretch of road. The memorials, a constant feature throughout Latin America, are a poignant reminder of the danger lurking around every bend.
On our approach to Iquique, our home for the night, it became much busier and rather horrid, quite frankly. It became scarred with the scourge of the modern world: plastic. The area's reason for being is nitrate mining. Iquique is actually a large port and is billed as 'Chile's premier beach resort' God help Chile! The entrance to the city is deeply depressing, a total mess of shacks and rubbish. Then, very dramatically, there is a 7km drop down to the huge city beneath. All high rise but with a real touch of the Wild West about it.
Today has been a 500kms drive to the cute village of San Pedro de Atacama. A fabulous journey, I thought. Mr.S. does not like desert as much as me but conceded it was deeply impressive. Utterly, utterly arid, with rapidly changing vistas. The early part of our route took us along the miserable coast that had a slightly menacing feel to me. Once we turned left all changed and the grandeur began.
We went past the largest open cast copper mine in the world: Quique - the main stay of Chile's economy. We tried to get in, to no avail. But, honestly, why would they let us in? 20,000 people are employed there. Most lived, until 2007, near the entrance to the mine but, then, copper was discovered under the houses and so everyone was relocated to a town a couple of kms away. It was disappointing not to be able see the massive crater of the mine. It is 4.3 kms long, 3 kms wide and over 900 metres deep. Imagine!
Che Guevara visited the mine on his famous motorcycle tour of South America when he was a medical student. Apparently, it was while talking with a local communist there that his political views and idealism were shaped.
We came across poor Stanley who was getting a little overheated, but was on his way again after a little rest and a cool off. We have climbed up to 3,000 metres again today. So it is a little tough on the cars. Poor Jorge's Merc has retired after a nasty accident yesterday. He will join the red pick up Hertz crew now. We are growing!
Shortly afterwards, the vista changed yet again and we were parallel to the Andes and had a mesmerising view of snowy capped mountains whilst we were in the heart of the desert. It was captivating. Our home for the next two days is in a fabulous hotel, think New Mexico chic. I am typing this on a lovely terrace, with an ice cold corona and looking towards a snow topped volcano. Eat your heart out!
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