Driving the Atacama

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Arriving into Copiapo airport in the North of the atacama desert on the early morning flight from Calama was an interesting experience. The flight stops at Copiapo before picking up extra passengers and continuing on to Santiago. However upon landing it wasn't clear when you were supposed to get off the plane so when passengers started boarding the plane I panicked and asked a stewardess if it was time to get off. After giving me several puzzled looks and asking why I was not travelling to Santiago they eventually let me off the plane and into Copiapo airport. I was the only one getting off at Copiapo, and its clear to see why. There's nothing there but sand, heat, cactuses and heat.



I decided to hire a car from Copiapo as the places I'd been recommended to see in Northern Chile were somewhat remote and being time constrained I didn't want to miss seeing things by being stuck on buses. Originally I'd envisaged renting something a bit speedy for the drive along the PanAmerican highway – perhaps a Ford Mustang or something basic but nippy like a Chrysler Crossfire. Unfortunately renting cars in Chile is hideously expensive thanks to the insurance required for navigating the country's mixed dirt and asphalt roads. So I opted for the cheapest possible wheels I could get my hands on – a Chevrolet Sparx “GT” 1.2 litre petrol go kart. It was actually quite fun to drive and speedy at times. Driving down the highway in the intense heat you're acutely aware of the landsape around you. Numerous skid marks veer off the road onto rocky verges next to fields dominated by nothing but cactuses and dust. The only signs of civilisation apart from passing autos are the annoyingly infrequent fuel stops and the odd observatory perched on a mountain.



My first stop on my 230 mile drive South to La Serena was the Humboldt National Penguin reserve. Leaving the PanAm highway and joining onto a semi asphalt / dirt road I drove the hour to the coast through the windy mountain roads feeling slightly inadequate thanks to the numerous 4x4s travelling in the opposite direction. Arriving at sunset you're immediately stunned by the remoteness and beauty of the rocky coastline punctuated by the odd fishing village. En route my thoughts were along the lines of: “Its a famous attraction”, “there are a number of towns, there must be some accommodation there”. To say the least I was wrong, cabins and camping are the order of the day here. Unfortunately all the cabins in the port were taken and given I'd spent most of my time above 3000 meters so far I certainly didn't have a tent with me. I decided to have dinner at a local fish restaurant and ask them if they knew of any accommodation in town, luckily they said they were able to arrange some at a campsite behind the restaurant. It turned out when asked local campsite owners Jose and Carmen had taken pity on the lone English man in the desert and offered me the spare room of their Camping office hut for the night. 'Camping office' doesn't really do the place justice, you can probably see from the photos its an amazing location – on the beach meters from the sea.



They only spoke Spanish and the pleasantries began with a smiling Carmen asking if was a asesino (murderer), obviously this isn't a word I've desperately tried to learn and so I smiled politely (or menacingly they probably thought). After we'd agreed I wasn't going to go on any rampages we had a really nice conversation in Spanish over a local glass of red wine or two. They told me about the area, about their Son who had moved to the Middle East and asked questions about home in England. Very few of the locals here speak English and so the trip to the coast proved to be great practice.



The next morning the boat trip out to the island reserve was just amazing. At this time of the year due to migration the array of wildlife present here is vast. Leaving the harbour we spent the first hour whale and dolphin watching and were rewarded with some really close views of Blue Whales, including a rare tail flap – captured on camera. There are also killer whales here, but we didn't see any. Arriving at the island you see various types of birds, seals and of course Penguino. The seal colony is really noisy with lots of pups at this time of the year and adults basking in the sun and jostling for space on the rocks. Saying my farewells I drove along the coast road to La Serena stopping off for a few photos en route at a remote beach.



The next day was Sideways time – a trip to the Elqui valley for vineyards, a pisco distillery tour and some good food. Its a 60km scenic drive from La Serena along the valley to the main market town of Vicuna with its many market stalls and small Artisan shops. En route on the fun windy roads you pass various vineyards and the Puclaro reservoir (another excellent potential moth worlds venue I think...). After a tour of the Pisco distillery in town I headed further up the valley to the small town of Pisco Elqui to stop for food. Everything here is grown or reared in the valley and you notice it in the taste. I don't think I've had a fresher salad with local steak since arriving in South America. Returning to La Serena along the winding, mountain roads I headed for the beach at La Serena to make the most of the sunshine. Now I'm in Santiago making the mst of the culture, the food and the local party scene.

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