ANTOFAGASTA A BEAUTIFUL CITY

Saturday, February 20

The laundry has been handed in to the chamber made and I wash a few items by hand, while Ramiro contacts some of his Rotary friends.
I am having a heck of a time trying to get a internet connection and start to get pretty frustrated. I know my mailbox will be full and my family is getting worried, not hearing from us, or knowing where we are. They always worry about us.


I know, that if I let it rest for a while and consider an internet cafe where I can use my laptop, everything will work out.
After lunch we drive into town. I am surprised to see such a beautiful city. Antofagasta is only about 20 block wide, from the coast into the hills, but its length must be more than 5 kilometers.

Downtown Antofagasta reminds me of a Buenos Aires. Beautiful buildings, palm trees and a gorgeous park. In the center is a miniature Big Ben; A gift from Great Britain.

On the wide street downtown are many modern shops.  The coastal road is lined with army buildings, municipal beaches, bicycling and walking trails, hotels and restaurants and gorgeous parks, including a Rotary Plaza.

The average temperature in this coastal city is maximum of 24 degrees C in February and a minimum of 10 degrees C. in July. Precipitation is from 0 to 1.2 millimeters per year...........

North of the city is La Portada, an rather unusual formation of sand and clay with an Arc de Triumph shaped rock in the ocean. In 2008 the area was developed with a museum, trails, viewing deck and facilities for the large number of tourists to enjoy. This is an example of how a natural phenomena is being controlled, but I understand that places such as these need to be protected from vandalism or other destruction, so others can enjoy for many more years to come. There is also a safety issue, as the rock above the trail, along the beach is crumbling. The trail is currently closed to visitors but we are able to get a good view from above.

When we return to town we have located an internet cafe and I finally have an opportunity to catch up on some of my e-mails and the blog.
When I don’t have access, all I can do is convert the pictures and prepare the text for the blog and write replies to e-mails, posting and sending them when we have access again. I never thought it would be so difficult in the north, but am starting to develop a system.

There is more to see in the city but we leave that for tomorrow. We’re going back to our bungalow for another home cooked meal.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Antofagasta has a rich mining history. After the independence of the former Spanish Colonies in South America in 1866, two new countries where developed, Bolivia and Chile. They signed an agreement between each other to share the taxes deriving from  the exploitation of  all mineral deposits existing in a certain area.
The city of Antofagasta was founded due to large saltpeter and nitrate deposits in the area, leading to the construction of a railway. All of this newfound wealth was due to the work of the Chilean prospectors, business men and wealth,mostly from the Copiapo area.
In 1878 Bolivia increased taxes on the export of  saltpeter which affected the Chilean companies a great deal. They refused to pay the taxes, as it was in breach of a treaty singed in 1874. The Bolivian Government put all Chilean companies up for auction to pay for the taxes. The day prior to the auction, a fleet of Chilean ships with 500 Chilean troops disembarked at the bay and occupied Antofagasta. This was the beginning of the WAR OF THE PACIFIC.

There are many more minerals in these mountains, including copper and silver, which created a great source of revenue, thus the mining company of Huanchaca was built in 1888. The plant contained the latest technology and equipment of that time. It’s crushing plant was able to produce 100 tons of ore per day, producing 100 kilos of pure silver. Unfortunately they only lasted for 10 years.

The entire plant stretched all the way from the foothills until the beach. Where a small church is still in tact. The ruins have been preserved and two months ago a most interesting museum was opened at the base of the ruins. We spent more than two hours looking at all the exhibits and reading about the history of the mining industry. Outside is a large variety of the various rocks all containing minerals. from saltpeter to copper.
The Casino. Hotel just below the ruins was opened a year ago and designed as a mirror image of the Huanchaca ruins.

As we visit other parts of the city. We happen to walk by the old railroad station, with a gate right at the costanera.The bells start ringing and the gate is opened.

A locomotive, pulling a dozen wagons with copper is passing through. This copper is being dropped of at the port for export. A short visit to the railroad teaches us more about the  importance of the railroad in those days. Even today it is one of the main forms of transportation. The seaport was also a very important part of this transportation as ore was being shipped to all parts of the world.

Today the old port is more of a tourist attraction. sea lions swim around the area, waiting for fish waste coming from the fish market nearby. A half blind street bum, living under a piece of wood around the fish market uses this to make some money for a bottle of rum or pisco.

 

 

It’s been a day full with activities and ‘by change” sightseeing opportunities. For the evening we will be meeting with a few members of the Rotary Club who hosted Ramiro and his team in 2004.
One of their members, Marcus, led an exchange team to Canada, shortly after Ramiro’s team returned and we like to meet with him and his club. But like many other clubs in Chile. This club has suspended their meeting over the summer months. But Marcus has arranged to have as many members as he could find to meet at the Casino for dinner. President Ignacio is also available and declares this an official meeting that will qualify for a make up.
We have a wonderful meal together and at midnight Marcus takes us to the beach, which is still full of people. This evening, the moon is in perfect position. I did not realized it, but learned, that in the southern hemisphere, the moon is upside down from the northern hemisphere.