WHO SAID YOU NEED GREENS FOR GOLF?

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Our thoughts are constantly with those affected by the earthquake. We watch a little TV in the morning hoping to hear more about any further developments. They continue to record tremors in the entire area. Buildings are still collapsing and more bodies are found, both dead and alive.

The Constitucion and Concepcion area, where most of the Contreras family lives has been affected the most. Looters have managed to break the loading dock door at one of the largest grocery chains Lider (now owned by Wallmart) and taking out all the food. I can understand people wanting to get food (we may do the same if we are desperate enough). But when I see large appliance and TVs carried out, we are talking robbery.
A large police tank truck appears and start spraying water. When that does not drive the people away, they start throwing teargas.

It is a terrible situation and my heart goes out to the people who are left homeless or who lost family members. There is no water, not gas, no electricity, no form off communication once the cell phone batteries run out.

It is difficult not being able to do anything for them.
We try to focus on our travels and are happy to drive along the coast today. It seems to be less depressing, then the dry dessert and the mountains.

I am not sure who determined, that golf can only be enjoyed on the most perfect green. Here in the Atacama desert, they prove that it can also be played on the sand. Even soccer can be played on the sand, only here they use a different colour. I don’t want to be the Mom having to clean their clothes and shoes after each game.

The quick descent from the high altitude in San Pedro to the coast, seems to affect us in a similar way as going up. Only this time, the headaches are accompanied by nausea. We have no appetite. What a great way to shed some of the extra pounds that seem to be added to our waist. Ramiro notices it even more than I do. But that’s because he loves the fresh Chilean bread. 
We drink lots of water and juice, and that’s all we seem to be needing right now.  The extreme heat adds to the discomfort. We did not expect it to be this hot here at the coast.

As we enter the state of Tarapaca, there is a Duana stop. This state is a free zone, where you can buy tax free cars and electronics. You can not take them out of the state however without paying taxes. It appears to be a quite simple process for us. We show our documents for the vehicle and are on our way again. I hope they let us go back again without any hassle.
I hate having to expose the entire content of our luggage, for them to check.

We take a break at Rio Seco, a small fishing inlet with a few simple houses and a comedor (a place to eat).
Here, a number of stone beds have been constructed along the beach. These would be filled with water, once the water has evaporated, a thick layer of salt remain. The salt that lays here is mixed with dirt and sand, it looks just like the Alberta sidewalks in the spring, when the snow is melting.

Ramiro uses this break to explore and adds a number of rocks and shells to our collection, while I watch the salamanders playing on the rocks and sit and enjoy the sound of the waves.



Further up the road north, we leave the coast for a while and start a very steep climb into the mountains. In order to maintain speed, you need to keep the pedal to the metal. It is a little nerve wrecking, this winding road so high up with no guard rails, but the view is spectacular. I ask Ramiro to keep his eyes on the road instead of on the coast below, which is difficult to do for him. Of course I can take the pictures and show him later, but these won’t do it any justice.

The enormous sand deposit on the rocks to the east of us, add to the beautiful scenery.

At Puerto Patache we see the end product from the salt planes of the Atacama desert. Behind a wall built of dirty salt, there are huge piles of salt, ready to be loaded onto ships for the overseas market.







Once we see Iquique in the distance, it’s time to pay attention to the signs and the city map again. All I have is a small map with dots where hotels are located. Not knowing the city or the type of neighbourhoods these dots are in, makes it  difficult to decide where we will stay. We had hoped for a cabin, but end up on the third floor of a, rather nice hotel, several blocks away from the shore.  The room is huge and it has a fridge. There is even an outdoor pool. But there is no internet signal. Oh darn; How am I ever going to get some of my work done and publish the last number of days on the blog?

I walk around with my laptop, until I get a signal. The room facing the ocean, has the door wide open, the curtains have been removed and all furniture sits on top of the bed. It appears that the carpet has been cleaned. Here I have a good signal. “This is the room I like to move into tomorrow” I announce.

We’re still not hungry and settle for a light, healthy snack, before we do our usual exploring excursion through town. I think I am going to like this place. At least by night it looks beautiful.

A SAD DAY IN CHILE

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Would we not have moved to a different Hostel last night, we would not have heard the news about the earthquake that hit Chile this morning.

While I am having my shower, Ramiro goes for breakfast in the common area, where the TV is turned up loud.
Within two minutes, he comes storming into our room, with tears in his eyes. He can barely speak.  “What’s wrong” I ask.  “A major earth quake in the Santiago area”. I quickly get dressed and watch the horrifying reports on the TV with him. Meanwhile he tries to make some phone calls to his family. The only one he is able to reach is Patricia, in Viña del Mar. They are fine, thank God. As soon as she heard on the news, that a Tsunami may follow, they  took their car and drove into the mountains, together with her brother Michael, who is staying with her and Delio.

As we continue to listen to the reports, we learn that Constitucion and Concepcion, where most of Ramiro’s family lives, has been the hardest hit, as this is where the Epicenter is. The peninsula north of Concepcion; Talcahuano, where Ramiro’s niece Lily lives with her family has almost been wiped out. We are not able to contact any of them.

While Ramiro thinks about his family and friends in Chile, I think about my family and our friends outside of Chile, who will be very worried about us.
I suggest we go to the Internet Cafe right away, where I can post a quick blog entry, and Ramiro a Facebook message, indicating that we are safe.

We don’t know how this will affect our plans when we return to Santiago the end of March, but we won’t worry about this now. We need to focus on safe travels further north, and pray for those who suffered a loss of life or property.

As we leave San Pedro and drive to Calama, everything seems to look different. The mountains seem even more powerful than ever.  We’re both quiet with our own thoughts. We’re concerned about the after shocks, which usually occur.

We make a short side trip to the Valley of the Dead, but the deeper we drive in this canyon, the more uncomfortable I feel and we decide to drive back on the main road to continue west.


The plan was to stay in Calama for a few days, so I can get some work done and to make a few side trip to some interesting places, including the copper mine.
We are not successful however, in finding a suitable place and decide to continue to the coast and stay in Tocopilla. We road takes us via Chuquicamata, where the mine is located. The closer we get to the mine, the more questions I have; This place is huge. Ramiro tells me how this copper mine, the largest in he world, can be seen from outer space. There once was a big city here, with a hospital and schools. It appears that there was a Rotary Club here as well. Most citizens worked for the mining company.

With an open pit mine, the earth which is excavated is piled up at least four storeys high around the pit.  There is a lot more copper to be mined and they are running out of space to put the dirt and rocks. The solution? Shut down the city, kick everyone out and pile up the dirt over the city.
Much of the city is already burried with mountains of dirt, including the hospital, the church and one of the schools.
In the remaining part of the city, the houses are boarded up, piles of dirt are placed at the beginning of the streets. A high fence prevents anyone from entering the neighborhood. The high mountains are slowly closing in on the rest of the city.
Nothing is being recycled. The excavated material gets dumped directly onto everything. The mountains of dirt are moving in closer and closer.

I don’t understand the process, but am not in agreement with it. I have so many questions; Wy?
We may consider arranging a tour on our way back south. I need to understand why they are doing this.

As we drive farther west, we keep tuned in on the news, and try to make a few more calls. We also receive calls from friends in the south, inquiring about our safety.

The next 100 kilometers are not very interesting. The area looks like a giant field of sand, ready for construction. We follow the power lines along both sides of the road. These originate in Tocopilla and provide power to the Chuquicamata Copper Mine.


As we get closer to the coast, we cross through the coastal mountains; dull grey, depressing looking mountains, with numerous tunnel mines.

With all the mining activity in this area, Tocopilla is exactly what I thought it would be. It reminds me of one of those wild west towns from the movies. The only difference being that this is mining and not cattle.

We enter the city from the north, down the mountain, looking down on numerous railroad tracks and old rusted rooftops. How depressing. The centre is somewhat better, but in desperate need of some paint and repairs. It has some old historic buildings. Interestingly, the Government buildings  look nice and are mostly restored. It is the privately owned buildings that are in big contrast.

We hope to find a place for the night and will move on quickly to Iquique tomorrow.
After zigzagging through town we settle for something along the main street. We only take a small overnight bag out of the car and park behind the gate, before we for our usual walk to explore. We do mange to find at least a few interesting buidling. I like the all wooden church in particular.

The street is full with small discount stores and lots of people with their family are shopping, drinking and eating. We spot a frui market and stock up on some fresh fruit.

Everywhere we go TVs  turned on and reports of more tremors continue to come in. Some as strong at 7.5.

I find a hairdresser and have her give me a quick haircut, so it is easier to manage again. Ramiro meanwhile has been in touch with more family members and they are all fine, but, of course in shock and without water, power or gas. The only one we have not been able to contact is Lily in Talcahuano.

WE ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THE EARTHQUAKE

we wake up with this terrible news and know that everyone will be worried about us. We are in the north. We have been able to contact some of the family who have indicated they are fine. The Varas family is OK. Patricia in Vina has not been affected. Luckily Michael from Holland was with her. Others we have not been able to contact and donñt know hwo thew siutation is in Concepcion. Easter Island has been affgected by a Tsunami, but no news of the family.

THE TATIO GEYSER

Friday, February 26, 2010

The stars are shining bright in the sky and the air is calm and cool. The van picks us up at 4:00 am for a two hour drive to the Tatio Geyser. The road is terribly pumby. It’s a good thing we are not able to see much, because it appears we are driving through some very scary passes, high up in the Andes. We are so high, that we can see stars below us. Small light dots in front of us, indicate a caravan of tour vans and busses, filled, with between 6 to 20 passengers.
Midway one of the tour vans has broken down. They stop every bus behind them, hoping for an empty seat to take some of their passengers.

When we get out of the mini bus at the park entrance to use the bathrooms and pay our entrance fee, we need to bundle up. It’s only 2 degrees Celsius here.
“The rain has warmed up the air”, I am told. Normally it is between 0 and 15 degrees Celsius and in winter between -10 and -30.  We have mittens and scarfs and a warm jacket, so we should be fine.

We receive a brief lesson on craters and thermal heat and how the temperature of the steam coming out of the crater can cause severe burns. “Keep your hands away from the steam”.

We are curious why we have to be here soo early and learn, that at night the cool, humid air, creates a higher barometric pressure, acting as a lid over the craters. Once the sun heats the air, the lid more or less lifts, releasing the steam. Unfortunately the rain from last night, caused a lot of clouds, making it difficult to see the same results as others before us may have seen.
The spouts are not as high as we expected. Often they reach a height of 6-10 meters.

We see an old power plant and learn that this was an experiment. They had hoped to be able to provide power to the community, but the operating cost are higher than the revenue, so they let everything sit there to rust.

Our guides talks about a “HOT” breakfast that will be waiting for us back at the bus. We visualize scrambled eggs, but all we see is bread, cake, yougurt, ham and cheese. Other tour companies have brought griddles and are indeed cooking scrambled eggs. Did we go with the wrong tour company perhaps?

We walk slowly and avoid bending down so we won’t be bothered so much by the high altitude. Last night we filled a large thermos with boiled water and made strong Coca tea. When it cooled off, we filled our water bottles with the tea and have been drinking this all evening and during our trip to the Geyser. This does help to a certain degree, but it is better to chew the coca leaves.
Once we return to the bus, the clouds are starting to lift, revealing a series of snow capped mountain as a result of last night’s rain.

We are happy that the bus stops every now and then to allow us to get out and take pictures of the active vulcan of Putana, of which we see a mirror image in the clear, blue  lagoon in front. To the right is volcan Sairecabur and next is Llancabur.

As we continue higher up, our tour guide announces that we have reached the highest point of our tour at 4,500 meters ASL. making the mountain range in front of us look quite spectacular.

We slowly work our way down again, spotting entire herds of Vicuñas and a large variety of birds at the various lagoons we pass.

At our next stop, we enter a deep rocky canyon, with a thermal river, with temperatures of about 38 degrees celsius.
Now we understand why it was suggested to wear our bathing suit under our clothes, we are going to have a bath. But first we need to hike down the canyon for about 20 minutes, jumping and climbing over rocks.

We continue to follow the stream until we reach a small pool, big enough for at least 12 people to take a warm bath. The small river runs down the various levels and drops in the form of a small waterfall in the pool. From there it continues to run down stream into another pool further on. In between are the gorgeous fox tail plants.

While I enjoy the nice warm water with some of  my fellow passengers, Ramiro goes rock hunting. He does not know how to swim, he explains to the others.
He probably does not liek the idea of having the tiny fish get stuck between his toes.

I regret having to get out of the nice warm water, but another group will be here soon. I find a place behind the rocks to change into my dry clothes and we climb up the rocks again.

We make one more stop. In order to reach some of these unique places, we often must hike down. To see the cactus garden is no different. We follow a small stream along the mountain slope over numerous rocks. The recent rainfall has broadened the stream and it is difficult to keep our feet dry.

There are a large number of cactus trees, which make excellent building material, but due to its slow growth, this cactus has been protected and can no longer be cut. Only if the tree has fallen down can it be used. (ha, ha, this is Chile, who is going to control this?) I recall the roof of the church in San Pedro being made of this cactus, which has a beautiful porous look, almost like a sponge.

 

 

I wonder why our guide continues to go further down the canyon. I figure, once you’ve seen one cactus, you’ve seen them all.
But then the stream drops into a small waterfall, which we can reach by very carefully manoeuvring over the rocks, helping each other when needed.
Cactus Tours has delivered another exciting day for us. it was well worth the money.

By the time we return to our Hostel, it is well past lunch time and we talk about making a fresh salad with some shellfish from a can and a nice cold glass of wine.
But we’re in for a surprise; Our room has been booked. Are we willing to move next door for our last night here? It has two single beds instead of one double.
We negotiate a better price and I start  moving all our belongings.


My instinct tells me to pay now, so there won’t be any surprises later. Just when I am done unpacking all our stuff again and start making our lunch, Ramiro returns. “We’re out of here”. 
In order to recouperate the loss on the “deal” we made, they add 5% Credit Card Charge on the total price of all four days.
“OK, no problem, I’ll pack up everything again, but will eat something in between and you can go and find us another place”. He finds us a much nicer place, close by and we do get that cold glass of wine after all, albeit it much later than planned.
With the late lunch and all the Coca tea we have been drinking, we have no appetite and turn in quite early, After all, we;ve been up since 3:00 am.