Background: Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.
July 25th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Hi everybody,
I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama on 7/17. San Pedro is a quaint little town with a population of 2500, which doubles when you add all the tourists. The architecture reminds me of Sa ... 20 photos[full story]
July 23rd 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Upon our arrival in San Pedro we immediately made our way to the nearest restaurant and wolfed down 2 man-sized pizzas. We then checked in to our b&b on the outskirts of town, a whole 10mins walk fro ... 8 photos[full story]
June 30th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Well technically I'm back in Santiago, but this (long) entry is all about my trip to the northern part of Chile. Some of this might be repetitious if you’ve read the last entry or two, but now I ... 31 photos[full story]
June 26th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Just a quick update. in an internet cafe in san pedro de atacama, a tourist-y uoasis of less than 2000 people in the driest desert in the world. today we went sandboarding in la valle de la muerte, or ... [full story]
June 21st 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Well, I survived the bus journey to San Pedro. Now its time to survive the altitude!. San Pedro is at 2440m ASL, and initially it is a bit of a shock to the old system with headaches and breathlessnes ... 6 photos[full story]
June 10th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama A viagem de Arica a San Pedro do Atacama foi nada menos do que TRASH, parada na estrada lá pelas 4 da manhã num frio de congelar na aduana Chilena e o ue deu mais raiva eh que nem olharam na minha car ... [full story]
June 12th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Had a very dusty afternoon in the Valle de la Luna. Can´t believe how much sand and dust there was - it was soooo windy. We stopped at a few viewpoints before getting the Valley of the Moon; includi ... 12 photos[full story]
June 21st 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama Hey there y'all
Just got back yesterday from a trip to the North with my host mom, and it was awesome!!!!!
So we started up in Arica. I never realized just how long chile is, and I'd forgotten h ... 22 photos[full story]
June 21st 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama At midnight we hopped on the bus (12 hour journey) for San Pedro and were chuffed at how roomy the second class seats were (equivalent to business on a plane!!) only to discover that some fat f#& ... 13 photos[full story]
June 13th 2008South America » Chile » Antofagasta Region » San Pedro de Atacama We must hold the record for the longest stay in San Pedro ever, but after watching others come and go finally our time has come! The hole in the tooth is filled with infection busting wading, the gum ... 7 photos[full story]
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