EVERY DAY IS A NEW EXPERIENCE

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

We wake up with a perfect blue sky and at 8:00 am the temperature is already in the upper teens. Shorts weather, we both agree.
Only 10 km west, we enter the same area we drove through two days ago and encounter strong winds and a cover of clouds over the mountains. It’s at least 10 degrees cooler, being outside is not nearly as appealing as it was in Vicuña.

Since there is another way back to the coast, we decide to take the tiny red earth road, parallel to the main road, on the north side of the river, and drive along orchards with fig, lemon, oranges, grapefruit and other tropical fruit trees.
The HAS Avocado is also being produced here in large volumes. The warm humid air is ideal for these crops.

We enjoy these tiny communities which are often named after the family who had an orchard and hacienda here. There is no traffic other than the odd local vehicle.
Within a few hours we’re back at the coast and bypass La Serena, north, along the edge of La Compañia, where a large Gypsy camp is set up with enormous tents.

We stop at a Copec Station to fill up with fuel and take a bathroom break. We don’t know when we will have another opportunity to do either one.

Ramiro finally gives in and we buy a a guide with the attraction of the north. I no longer have to rely on my limited print outs from the web or the non excisting tourist information booths. Now we won’t miss so many things along or off the road.

We find a perfect spot for lunch at the trucking area and chop up some left over chicken, mix it with mayonnaise  add some fresh tomatoes and voila, a gourmet lunch. We are not the only ones. Lunches are spread out over the hood of cars or even of the ground. Gee, and I thought you had to be Dutch to do such a thing.

We get a glimpse of the coast just long enough to reminisce about some of the days at the beach. Then it is inland, up and up and up. We are getting higher and higher and dryer and dryer, All of a sudden the sun appears again, juis after I changed into long pants again.
The landscape is like you might see in parts of New Mexico or Arizona, very dry and mountainous. Dry bushes scattered around the red earth. Even cactus does not grow here.
The bright sky is almost blinding and hurts the eyes. For miles and miles, there is nothing, no farms, no houses, no cattles, no services, no side roads. Just us Gringos and the truckers and the large number of modern buses.

This is the only road leading north. Part of the Panamerican Highway. Not counting the southern fjords area, this part of Chile is the skinniest at only 150 km wide. On the left is Argentina. Our latitude is roughly Porto Alegre, Brazil.

This is the only road leading north. Part of the Panamerican Highway. Not counting the southern fjords area, this part of Chile is the skinniest at only 150 km wide. On the left is Argentina. Our latitude is roughly Porto Alegre, Brazil.

It’s time to dig up the CDs again, this could be a long drive. Not so, I am amazed and can not keep my eyes of the landscape. “ Wait until we are in the desert”, Ramiro tells me with a grin on his face. “What do you mean, this is not desert”?

We won’t be able to make it all the way to Chañaral and still find accommodation early enough to enjoy the evening and decide to turn west again before Vallenar, toward the port town of Huasco.

We’re back into civilization and see more green again.
We stop at an old railroad station in Maitencillo at the cross roads leading to two mining towns, One north and one south. We check out some of the old buildings.

The state these buildings are in give us an idea of how they were made: Poles in the ground about 3 feet apart, held together with horizontal wires at one meter distance from each other. Dead branches were stuffed between the poles and the wires and were then filled with mud. Other types of structures are the adobe houses, made of mud blocks. The buildings may be old and abandoned, but the flowers that were planted 50-60 or 70 years ago, remain, making this place mysterious, yet beautiful.

The colonial town of Freirina which we enter next, seems to be thriving on the olive industry. Enormous olive tree orchards are seen between the river and the main road leading west. The Santa Rosa de Lima church built in 1869 indicates some of the history of this town, as do the old adobe houses with their Alerce (Red Wood) roofs.

We don’t go through town unnoticed. As we cruise through the streets, taking pictures, the local men are eager to tell us about some of the architecture worth seeing. The most interesting building is Casa Callejas Zamora, owned by the owner of a former gold mine. He has moved south, we are told, but his son looks after the house and lives in one of the wings which still seems to be in tact.









We reach Huasco early enough to find a reasonable motel type Hostal, with private units, securely fenced in, with a swimming pool where we can sit outside for our daily pre dinner drink.
Once we are settled in we leave the car behind the gate and work our way down to the beach for a long walk, watching  a grou of young men fishing for Pejerey, asort of sardine but longer. I believe we may call this smelt.

After a quick meal in town, we find our way back, well after dark, for an evening at home. Too bad, we are right beside the railroad track. I hope you sleep well Ramiro.