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Published: December 5th 2007
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San Pedro - on of the Main Streets
This little village on the edge of the Atacama Destert has only dirt streets around a scenic paved central square. Everything in it is basic...but expensive! Wednesday 5th December:
Sunday afternoon was an interesting one; though I didn´t manage to get to the street markets on the other side of the city, I did get a boat trip around the bay. It was an old boat and there were about 40 people on board. As we left the harbour it was obvious that the engine was having problems and some of the passengers were making jokes and laughing about it. However the scene changed when smoke started billowing from the engine compartment. The smoke was getting in the eyes of some; they began moving away from the engine area, while others were ensuring that their lifejackets were secured properly and some shouting at the captain to turn back to port. Before he could the engine died completely. There was about 15 seconds of silence before some resumed shouting at the captain, who was by now on his radio requesting assistance. Eventually another boat came to our aid and started to tow us back to port. Watching them try to steer the boat into dock was a pantomine. We were shunted against lots of other boats as they tried to manoeuvre it into position. After much encouragment from
An Inca Settlement Site
While on the bike ride I visited and climbed these ruins of an Inca site - a national monument area. the gathered crowd on the harbour we docked safely and disembarked.
Undeterred, I found another boat with less people in it and had a successful tour of the bay - well worth it. ´Bought some food on the way back to the hostel and chatted over a meal with some of the people staying there. I discovered that one of the French girls from the hostel was robbed earlier in the afternoon; three men attacked her, snatched her backpack and when she resisted by holding on to it, one bit her hand. She lost her passport, credit cards and some money, so she has to travel back to Santiago early tomorrow morning to get to the French Embassy. Despite so many negative experiences in Valparaiso, I love the city for its colourfullness, livliness, character and maritime history. I will be sorry to leave it.
Monday was a travelling day: 'shared taxi to the coach station, caught the 9:30 to Santiago and got a transfer bus to the airport. I got there early (wasn´t taking any chances with coach travel, given my previous experience). I continued with my book "How the Irish Saved Civilization"! I was given a first
"The Devil´s Gorge"
About 12km outside San Pedro is this naturally eroded gorge. class seat on the´plane without any extra cost. The ´plane had one stop at Antofagast for refuelling. When we landed at Calama I had to travel across town to the coach station to get transport to San Pedro - my destintion for the the next few days. As we pulled into the village it was dark, there was no coach station and very few street lights. Everything here is basic; all the streets are just dirt roads, and all of the buildings are low level (less than 2 stories) apart from the church and police station. I had to look for accommodation as I was unable to book ahead. After trying a few places I got a room - small and basic, no breakfast. 'Found a minimarket open and bought some food provisions for tomorrow and had a meal in one of the many restaurants there. San Pedro is a tiny village (about 1000 pop.) saturated with tour companies, restaurants and souvenir shops.
The next morning I rented a bike and rode outside the village to the ruins of an Inca settlement, climbed it and explored the area - interesting. I rode on another 4 Km crossing some streams
Interesting Rock Formations
On the afternoon tour the mountain scenery was incredible. This shot shows the layers of rock formation over millions of years, exposed by erosion. on the way to the "Devil´s Gorge" - a naturally formed canyon through river erosion. Temperatures well up in the 30s here, so plenty of water and sunblock was the order of the day. 'Came back to the village for lunch as I had a tour booked for later in the afternoon. I joined a group of about 20 for it and we went in a minibus (which was very hot even with the air conditioning full on) on a 40 min drive over dirt roads to "Death Valley". We had a good guide who explained how it got its name - 3 theories, the most prevalent being that the area was inhabited by nomadic tribes who threw their sick, handicapped and old peple into the valley to die.
We drove on to see some old salt mines in the national park. The salt in the area is toxic as it contains particles of litium, so it was not used for human consumption. The surrounding landscape as we drove was spectacular, like the surface of the moon. In fact the next place we arrived at was called "The Lunar Valley", to see the setting sun. We got out and climbed
Lunar Landscape Backdrop
This speaks for itself, the Andes in the distant background with the desert landscape behind me. high to get the best view. As we waited, we looked at the salt crust on the rocks, walked through the fine dust dunes (even finer than sand, which swirls in the air with the slightest wind) and took lots of photos. The setting sun was breathtaking - see photos.
I bought coach tickets earlier in the day back to Calama and on to the Chile/Bolivian border. There is only one coach to the border and it is very infrequent. It means I leave on Wednesday (today) at 7:00pm and then from Calama at 9:30pm. They couldn´t tell me what time it arrives at the border, but I guess it will be well after midnight. I then have to find transport from there to Uyuni in Bolivia.
Today is checking out and preparation time for tonight´s trip across to Bolivia. I shall not be sorry to leave San Pedro; ´though it has lovely scenery round it and lots of interesting places to see, the prices here are highly inflated. As it is the only oasis on the edge of the Atacama desert it has a monopoly on the tourist trade. It is probably the most expensive I´ve experienced
Desert "Dust"
In the middle of the photo you can pick out the large dune of fine desert sand, so fine it swirls into the air with the slightest wind - not good for the eyes! since I´ve arrived in S. America. Bolivia will be a different experience, as it´s the poorest country in S.A. However it is having some problems at the moment with much political unrest over their constitution. There have been riots in some of the cities recently. I will avoid them.
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Lynae
non-member comment
Flying
Hey, my name is Lynae and a friend and I are traveling to Chile for three weeks at the end of the month. I've been trying (and not succeeding) to find out whether or not I should book our tickets for our in-country flights now or if its not that big of a hassle to do it while we are down there. What did you do? Any tips or information would be great. Thanks!