Blogs from Tarapacá, Chile, South America

We had a nice breakfast considering we were in the middle of nowhere. I went outside for a walk around and all I could see were trucks parked everywhere so I assume the drivers were staying somewhere in Colchane, but I couldn’t see much around at all. We set off on schedule at 09:00. Today was another traveling day but with a lot of brief stops for photos. As has been the case on a few days, it was about the journey rather the destination, there were beautiful spots everywhere as drove higher and higher.. We stopped at four small ghost towns which had well maintained churches for historical preservation reasons. One was just 15 minutes from Colchane in Isluga which was named after the Volcano Isluga which we could view whilst driving through the Isluga ... read more

David here... As Suzanne has mentioned, there was some 'excitement' on the the bus to Iquique. I couldn't believe that they put on 'I Spit on your Grave' for us to 'enjoy'. I thought it would at least be heavily edited. It wasn't. As it got worse and worse, I got more and more angry, until I couldn't just sit there. I stalked down the bus to find the attendant, unsuccessfully, then knocked loudly on the door to the drivers cab and told him in English what the film was about and to turn it off. He thought I was motioning to the air conditioning so lowered that, so I said 'the film, the film', again in English. He then got it, and turned it off. With hindsight, looking up the phrases I needed in Spanish ... read more

If one flies into the city of Iquique, in Northern Chile, one lands on an airstrip more or less on the beach, surrounded by desert and at the foot of a giant mountain of sand. The gigantic sand dunes and the desert, spread from the Andes in the east, to the ocean in the west. Virtually the whole of Northern Chile is desert, from the Peruvian border down to the Atacama, where it hasn´t rained for over one hundred years; it is an endless landscape of sand. If, however, one crosses the desert url=file:///C:/Users/Vivien/Documents/Blog%2039%20%20%20%20Four%20hours%20of%20desert%20and%20a%20brush%20with%20officialdom.docx#_msocom_1 bus, as we did on Monday, then it is necessary to descend one of these monster dunes (not quite in the style of Fifth Gear) to reach the city. It is quite an experience, seeing the city and the Pacific far below, ... read more

Hasta Luego Latinoamérica We say "Adios" to Latin America as the Six Monthers prepare for the next phase of our travels.... read more

Aujourd’hui, après une nuit bien réparatrice, nous partons pour Humberstone, une ville minière, de production de nitrate de sodium et de salpêtre de la fin du XIXème siècle, désertée depuis les années 60 suite à sa fermeture, maintenant classée par l’UNESCO. Rien à voir avec le cote ‘Disney western aseptisé’ que peut avoir la ville fantôme que j’avais visitée en Californie vers Yosemite. Humberstone a accueilli jusqu'à 5000 personnes à son apogée, avec sur le même site la zone industrielle, les habitations (bien séparées : pour couples mariés, pour célibataires etc) et les bâtiments publics (hôpital, école, piscine). Il fait chaud, très chaud, mais nous arrivons a rester plus de 4h sur place, à déambuler et fouiner à l’intérieur des bâtisses désaffectées, avec quelques parties musée et objets d’époque très intéressants. Il n’y a quasiment pas ... read more