Calama and the mines of Chuquicamata

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pictures uploaded finally.....

hola,
so we made it to Calama, after a 10hr overnight ride in a bus from Arica, Chile. This bus ride wasnt too bad, it seems the roads and drivers in chile are a little more prudent and cautious than peru. we arrived at around 5am, and it was maybe 40 degrees there ,7500feet elevation of course. After a brisk walk, we found a hostel, and were able to get right into the room. Calama is a small town in the atamaca desert, and the gateway to the Chuquicamata copper mine. we were able to get on a tour that same day in the afternoon of the copper mine. its a 15min taxi ride to the mine. then onto a tour type bus and into the mine. its sooooooo huge, everything about it is huge, the trucks, the actual mine, wow !!! the trucks hauling the dirt out are monstrous, 4million bucks a piece. they have 99 of them hauling dirt out. its a pretty cool sight to see. C was able to see whats left of the old town where the miners and other workers lived, which is essentially on site at the mines. Thats where her grandma taught, and met her grandfather. But they have since moved that whole town out, and into calama because they keep making the mine bigger and bigger, the town as too close, and is now half buried in dirt. so the tour just takes you to a viewpoint over the mine, or big hole in the earth, and you get out to take your pictures. its was pretty cool.
We spent the night in calama, the town itself doesn't have much to offer, a main drag where the food and sellers hang out, an not much else. so we decided to catch a bus all the way down to santiago from here, another 22hr bus ride..yippee. once in santiago we will then decide our plan of attack for exploring patagonia.
ohh and P.S. my spelling, grammar and use of caps,commas, etc is horrible i know. but in my defense, the keyboards we have to use are not the same as i am used to, keys in different spots, hard to find shift, or question marks, some keyboards hardly work, or keys stick, or dont work, so since i have to pay per minute or hour, i figured its not worth rereading, and staring at the keyboard all the time making it look perty ,haha.
-r-

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Photos

entrance to the copper mine
This is the entrance to the copper ine, and the old town C´s grandma lived and teached.

monster truck and our tour bus
just trying to show the size of these monsters