DRIVING INTO NORTHERN CHILE: THE LAST FOUR DAYS

Okay, so I´ve got a lot of traveling to put up on the blog, and I´ve uploaded a bunch of pictures to help give you an idea of what´s up here. The above photo was taken last night b efore the sun went down at the place I ended up camping at. I´ll tell you more about it when I get past today´s images from the road

So today I arrived at Taltal, which as some of you know, is about my most favorite places on the north Chile coast. The image to the left is of a line of stunning, chocolate-ribbed hills that lie just east of Chañaral, right near km 1000 on the Panamericana (Chile National Route 5). It´s about 150 km south of Taltal.

Now, the image to the right (if this sequence holds up is of tanker truck - but this tanker truck is a beer truck! Now, of course it is a common sight to see beer trucks, but they are always carrying the finished product - bottled or canned beer - either to a distribution warehouse or to a retail outlet. This was the first time I´d ever seen a tanker truck...Crystal is one of the most popular of the Chilean beers...

Now the next photos come from my campsite, where I stayed last night. The first picture is of a young red fox - when I woke up and climbed out of my tent I was surprised to see this little one curled up awaiting my emergence - only about 10 yards away from me. I immediately took his picture, and then commenjced a very interestin g morning as this fox was joined by another, slightly larger one, and they both seemed to be intent on watching my every move. It turns out that despite being in such a remote place, these foxes have figured out that wherever humans are, there is food. Well, they were totally passive towards me and I never felt that I had anything to worry about from them, so I eventually shared my breakfast with them...a piece of bread, some water, a slice of cheese for both, and part of my banana, which was hogged by the bigger fox. They stuck around and watched me pack up my sleeping bag and tent, and then I waved good-bye to my little fox friends, although I know that theywere probably only disappointed that I wasn´t leaving anything behind for them to tear apart.

Here is a picture of my camp. It was up in the dry mountains at the site of an abandoned silver mine known as Chañarcillo, which once upon a time apparently had been a real monster producer of this precious metal, and was significant for providing much of the early wealth to the biggest city in the region, Copiapó. The silver at this mine was discovered in 1832 by an entepreneur named Juan Godoy, and the city which sprang up at the base of this mountain came to bear his name. In 1860 the town of Juan Godoy was the second largest in the region, after Copiapó, boasting a population of 14,000 people.

But as many of these sorts of places go, the boom was folowed by bust, and I understand that the mines closed forever in 1888, once it was determined that the caverns had flooded with seeping groundwater.



The picture to the left shows the remains of perhaps what was the most striking mine shaft on the mountain. Known as the Pique Dolores, built after the discovery in 1832, it still shows the massive rock wall buttress that once held up the smelter and various outbuildings on the slope of the mountain. Now the buildings are gone, and the buttress holds up what is now the precarious roadway that winds up and around to the top of the mountain.

The image to the left shows one of the many deep and un-fenced mine shafts that drop straight down into the heart of the mountain. When I approached this view, I was struck with the most frightening sense of vertigo I could imagine. To take the picture I found myself dropping down onto my hands and kn ees to approach the opening to take this fleeting glimpse into what I would clearly call the abyss...

Now, these two shafts are right next to the abyss, and even though they open up to the front, the dark interiors suggested both mystery and danger. Best to take the pictures and be on my way, I figured.

But before going to camp at the mine at Chañarcillo, I´d spent my first two nights in Vallenar. That´s the plaza in Vallenar to the left. I´d originally planned to spend one night in Vallenar, and two in Huasco, which is downstream from here on the coast, but by the time I´d got to Vallenar on my big push up fro m Santiago, there was plenty of daylight left, so I decided to drive straight out to Huasco. When I got there, I could not find a single accomodation that was open for business. It was frustrating, but hey, I was going to need a room somewhere. So I doubled back and returned to Vallenar, and booked myself into the Hotel Puerta de Vega, a nice, clean place, but pricey!

Well, I was booked in to Vallenar for a quiet and peaceful Sunday after putting something like 770 kilometers on the odometer of my rented Nissan 4x4 the previous day. So I slept in, and then, when I felt like it, I took a leisurely stroll through town. Vallenar has a nice park set up along the banks of the Río Huasco, which flows down from the snows and glaciers of the high Andes through here to the sea. The above picture gives a glimpse of this modest river which gives this arid valley its life.
The image to the left gives another view of the Río Huasco, downstream from Vallenar. I stopped for a moment on my ill-fated drive down to the coast, in my attempt to find accomodations in Huasco. But such is life, here on the road.

But there was one pleasant surprise waiting me on that otherwise forgettable drive down the river to the coast last Saturday: Totally by chance, I stumbled upon a floklorico dance that was in progress in the town of Freirina (pop. 3,200) . It was in conjunction with the big national "Teletón," which is exactly like the Jerry Lewis Telethon in the USA. Chile holds this big fund-raiser every year on Nov.30-Dec.1 (except in election years), and many local communities hold special events in their plazas while most of the major TV networks carry the pledge drive feed to draw in the most money possible. Well I stopped for maybe 15 minutes at most. I donated 1000 pesos, roughly the equivalent of $2 USD. But I was extermely impressed with these young dancers, pictured above.

Now I will be here in Taltal for several days - actually I won´t likely leave until next Monday. So I´ll be getting around and about this town of some 15,000 people, and maybe I´ll post something about the local scene here.....

So stay tuned!

Cheers,

JMK, The Atacama Viajero