Blogs from Tarapacá, Chile, South America - page 2

Day 307 Monday 13th August Up at 8 and after our breakfast we once again were packing our bags for a day of travelling. Checked out without a problem and got the hotel to ring for a taxi for us. At the bus terminal we had a choice of companies that would take us to Iquique and settled on one that looked okay and would leave at 11.30, which gave us a 90 minute wait. The last couple of bus terminals in Peru, Arica and this terminal we have had to pay a departure tax, and the irony of this, is that these terminals have been the most putrid. We are travelling with Norte Cruz today and to our complete surprise we were served lunch shortly after leaving which considering that we only paid 6000 Pesos ... read more

So, as this is the best place to launch yourself off a mountain and land in a beach best give it a go. Mind you can think of one or two people who I used to work with, and I use the term work very loosely here, who I would gladly push of a mountain, and rather than a safe landing on a beach, a #ing hard landing on the head, the shute still in my hand as I watch them plummet. I won't mention any names but they know who they are. My companeros for this lunacy are Rich and Stacey, a brother/sister combo from Calgrey. Rich is a 24yr old lumberjack, and actually he´s OK. Sleeps all night and he works ... read more

Valuable metals aren't the only thing to come out of northern Chile's barren ground. For a few short decades between the 1870s and the 1920s, this part of the world played a crucial role in world development as well as Chile's economic fortunes. The reason? Plants need nitrogen to grow - but they can't extract it from air which is, in fact, full of it. Cultivating crops successfully requires the addition of nitrogen to the soil, and since the appearance of agriculture this has generally been achieved using manure or compost. As far as producing large yields, however, these methods aren't very efficient. Work by European chemists in the 18th and 19th centuries paved the way for the use of far more effective chemical fertilisers. Inland Tarapacá, the region now surrounding Iquique, was quickly discovered to ... read more

Day 147 – 150 After a change to our flight (apparently Bolivian politicians took our seats) we end up back in La Paz after 2 dodgy Aero Sur flights and one stop in Santa Cruz. Slight scare when my bag doesn’t show up in the baggage reclaim but after some panicky Spanish we find out it came on the politician plane and is safe in another room. After checking in we set out to find out if the rumours of a national strike on Monday are true. These are quickly confirmed and when we ask how long the strike will go on for we are told a day... maybe 2... maybe all week. With it being Saturday we decide it is best to book 2 bus tickets to Chile for Sunday as we can’t risk getting ... read more

Iquique is a beautiful port city located in northern Chile on the pacific coast. Its location generates a seemingly perfect climate (if you are like us and love the sun) – the city has the beautiful beach on one side and the Atacama Desert on the other. They normally receive about three days or less of with rain each year! The weather was beautiful while we were there too - warm days with a nice breeze at night. The city has some colonial aspects, and it was actually part of Peru until after the War of the Pacific in 1879 when Chile won the territory. Sarah and I spent most of our our time surfing, sandboarding, paragliding / parapenting and generally enjoying the chilled beach scene. (I also managed to sneak in a few games of ... read more