THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VALLEY ON EARTH

Sunday, February 14,2010

A curtain of fog is hanging over the coast and the mountain range. All the villages are still asleep. We turn east towards the Elqui Valley. Rather than staying on the main road,  enter some of the little picturesque villages. They each have something unique about them, whether it is an interesting looking church or a unusual roof style, such as the one in Molle, which is one of the first settlements before the Diaguitas Indians.

Here and there we stop to see how the vineyards operate. It's amazing how they can start in the dry sand and rock with nothing and produce so much juice fruit.



In the old mining village of Marquesa, we watch one of the locals, who is hoping to get a warm shower this Sunday morning; In some of the older houses, the water heater hangs outside that bathroom or kitchen wall. As the cold water runs through, it gets heated by a gas flame. In this case however it heats more than the water. Large flames are shooting up from the Geyser. The guy has no idea how to fix it and stands there scratching his head. We don’t stay long enough to see what  happens, but don’t hear any fire truck sirenes.

 
There are many official campgrounds in Elqui Valley, most of them at the edge of the little villages. For those who enjoy the wild and want to camp for free, there is always the Elqui river. Entire families of 8 to 30 members, have set up camp and spend their weekend or entire vacation here.












A visit to the Puclaro Dam allows us to do a brisk morning walk. The mist makes this valley and the lake look very mysterious, but in the distance we see a beautiful blue sky.

A unique University project named Imagenes Eolicas  de Elqui emits harp like sounds, caused by the wind and the wires attached to  the structure. depending on the direction of the winds different sounds can be heard.

Souvenir stands at the entrance of the dam offer a variety of items, including a cactus fruit called Copao. The inside looks like kiwi, but the substance is much more gell like and very sour. “You must try it” the lady suggests. Well, alright if only for the vitamin C.

If we were to follow the river inwards, we see how it starts at the Pacific Ocean, running from west to east into the valley, where it gets dryer and dryer. Behind the dam, is a large lake, which changes into a river again and runs through Vicuña. The wind in the area of Gualiguaica is perfect for Kite Surfing. We watch how the guys, with their feet tied to a surf board, hang on to a rope attached to a ellipse shaped sail. They get pulled into the air by the strong wind and make jumps, saltos and dips into the lake. It’s quite a sight. One must have very strong arm muscles to be able to hang on to the kite.

The more we proceed inland, the more vineyards we see. By now the stands along the road are all open for business and we stop to buy some grapes. Ramiro only hears the price of 1,000 Pesos, ($2.00 Cdn) but does not realize he will get 3 kilos of grapes for that price. With that many grapes, we’ll be able to make our own  wine in a few days.

We bypass Vicuña and turn south into the Elqui Valley. What a sight.

Like a cleavage between the dry, rough, sandy mountains runs a valley so green and so lush. Nothing but grapes vines for the Pisco market.
It’s not only the landscape that makes this valley famous, but for being related to esoteric and extraterrestrial phenomena.
The temperature has changed drastically. The cold, humid winds have changed into hot dry air. The sun has an extremely powerful effect. My skin, which has already been exposed to the sun for the past two months is tanned, so it takes some time to get sunburned, but ten minutes in this sun and my face is burned.
My eyes are red from the bright, dry air. Sunglasses are a must.

We pass little tourist villages such as Montegrande, birthplace of Chile’s greatest female Poet and Literature Nobel Prize Winner Gabriela Mistral, and Pisco Elqui where the Distillery is Pisco Mistral is located; The oldest distillery of Pisco in the region.

Reluctantly we turn back to Vicuña, knowing that if we don’t get there by 6:00 pm, it may be difficult to find accommodation. We already get a few “No vacancy” responses and finally find a Hostal right downtown, with a nice, simple  room on the corner of the building. It has a wonderful patio, a pool, as most places in this hot climate do, and a dining area, where the breakfasts are served.
To  our surprise, a cool glass of juice and fresh fruit is delivered to the room after we have checked in. That’s a first. We better not get used to that.

After a moment on the covered patio by the pool, with a nice glass of Sangria we walk to the square which is full of activity. Artisan booth are set up, with interesting souvenirs for sale. The village of 24,000 inhabitants has a beautiful church; Temple of Immaculate Conception and the Bauer Tower, constructed from Oregon pine, manufactured in Ulm, Germany in 1905.

We don’t eat out very often, but because today is Valentines day we treat ourselves to a goat meat dinner and a bottle of Pinot Merlot.
The evening air is warm and dry. It’s great being outside at this time of the night.
Until deep into the night we catch up on e-mails and the blog, which had to wait for all these days.