Monday 7th May, Copiapo

The hamburgers here vary from quite good at the American fast food franchises to absolutely “they need lessons” at sidewalk food stalls. Admittedly the price varies from around 5,000 pesos for a decent one down to 2,000 pesos for one you might be tempted to toss in the rubbish! The dearer ones are on nice soft sesame seed buns with salad and mayo – the cheap ones are just a slice of fake cheese and fake meat slapped between two dry buns.

One of the things that you notice here is the number of never before seen car brands – my guess is sourced from China or some other Asian or Indian country or possibly Brasil or Mexico. Maybe they’re “knock offs” of brands made in other countries for the big car companies like GM or Ford but with different badges? It’s interesting, anyway. Mahindra are common (Indian) as are the well known Korean, European and Japanese marques. The luxury tour coaches on the main routes tend to be well known European brands like Mercedes, Volvo, Scania and so on – fast, reliable and well-appointed with TVs, aircon, cruise control, seats with plenty of legroom that also recline a long way back and with leg rests to support your entire leg – very comfortable. The onboard information screen tells you the name of the driver and the speed and invites you to report the driver for exceeding the 100 kph speed limit – they set the cruise control to 99 kph, so no problem.

A 20 minute stop en route at Vallenar two hours after leaving La Serena provided some respite and time to stretch legs and get a coffee (black, they’d run out of milk) – probably the best value coffee I’ve had so far this trip, 500 pesos (NZD$1.20), for a large one in a ceramic mug – my translator got a “completo” (a frank in a long bun with everything) for only 1,000 pesos (NZD$2.40) which is the cheapest I’ve seen them anywhere so far. Maybe the further we are from Santiago the cheaper food and drinks become – I hope.

The scenery for the first two hours is largely desert – barren and rocky and unlike the Elqui valley, devoid of cacti (there are thousands around Pisco on the hills). The odd wind farm and huge solar panel farms were along the way. Not sure how they keep the PV panels free of dust, though, as there doesn’t seem to be any water for miles. I think just wiping them might damage the surface. The odd high hill also looked like it had an observatory on it – too far away to tell for sure.

At intersections in the cities you are often entertained while stopped at a red light by jugglers, unicyclers, unicyclers that are juggling (sometimes large knives!!), and gymnasts with additional skills like juggling burning torches at the same time. If I take a video I always also leave a tip of 2 or 3 hundred pesos for their entertainment. It’s their sole source of income.

Monday 7^th May, Copiapo en route to Caldera.

Checked into the AirBnB in Copiapo after arriving by coach from La Serena and being picked up by the host, Leonardo, in his nice newish Hyundai Van and driven the 4 kms out of town to the accommodation. Not in a house as I’d expected but in a drab block of small motel type rooms with an en suite bathroom. The kitchen is in one of the rooms in the same block of units but has no sink – maybe it was also a bedroom once as it does have a shower and toilet. A rude bench has a microwave and electric jug and a fridge that freezes everything in it (so no milk or yoghurt – just some very cold almost frozen grapes for breakfast washed down with black coffee). Leonardo drove us the 4 kms into town for 1,000 pesos but as it was Sunday night hardly anything was open – just a very expensive cafeteria and a pub. At 5,400 pesos for a litre of the cheapest beer in the cafeteria I opted for the pub and 2,300 pesos for a litre of the same beer. Uber got us back to the AirBnB for 2,800 pesos but had a little difficulty locating the entrance gate on the highway, so we dallied back and forth a bit until I recognised the gate. That may have added to the cost of the Uber car.

This morning we’re busing to Caldera on the coast (2,400 pesos each) where we’ll spend an hour or so looking around before busing further up the coast to explore Chanaral before heading back to Copiapo later in the day. Copiapo is a copper mining town and looks like it – lots of large disused machinery lying around rusting or partly dismantled and everything covered in dust. Not a lot to recommend it to visitors, but a convenient stopover point en route North. As we head toward the coast the mountains disappear behind us and the terrain becomes flat as a chess board and desolate barren desert. I’d have liked to go further inland to one of the National Parks but I’d need a 4WD vehicle and several days to accomplish such a trip. Maybe on the way back South in June that may happen with a tour operator who goes there. I’d have loved to buy a 4WD Landcruiser in Chile but would need 3 other travel companions, one of whom was bi lingual, in order to be viable. As we travel to Caldera we pass an airport in the middle of the desert with a sizeable jet parked on the apron – servicing this whole region, I guess.

Caldera didn’t have a lot to offer except a picturesque fishing port full of colourful boats. After a stroll around for an hour (and buying a powerful green laser pointer like the one used at the Mamalluca Observatory for pointing out the significant stars and planets for about NZD$19.00) we decided to skip Chanaral and travelled by colectivo to Bahia Inglesia 6 kms away instead (NZD$5.00) which is a tourist mecca in the summer due to its beautiful white sand beaches and upmarket cabanas. The beautifully clear water was enticing and one or two locals were braving the cold water for a swim. I’d have gone in myself if I’d known and brought my togs with me. Being low season hardly anyone was around and most places were closed. An hour there and we decided to stroll back to Caldera in the sun along the edge of the Atacama desert. I was keen to visit the Atacama desert before I came to Chile but I think I’ll give it a miss as I think I’ve seen enough dry sand now! Although I’d love to see it in spring when after rain it comes alive with vibrant coloured wild flowers (doesn’t happen every year – only the years when it rains).

I finally got an explanation about the little shrines I’d seen all along the highway from Santiago to here – places where people have been killed on the road. There are so many, “human road kill” must be very common here! Some are quite elaborate but most are just simple tiny “churches” with a cross and some dusty flowers and treasures around them. Another “shrine” we encountered looked like a wall of eclectic junk – anything and everything you could imagine from bottle tops to old road signs and rusty barbed wire! A photo of a backpacker walking towards Bahia Ingelsia prompted him to ask for money but my translator explained that we were walking back to Caldera because we couldn’t find an ATM in Bahia Inglesia to get some money for the fare (it worked – the value of having a translator with you!).

Once back in Caldera we stopped for lunch – Completo with papa fritas – Wow! I thought the French fries would be served on the side with the completo, not inside the bun! So, a large long bread roll with a frankfurter in the bottom, the French fries stacked on top and drenched with guacamole and garlic mayo! Delicious! 1,600 pesos – NZD$3.50. After that I just had to have a siesta on the grass under a palm tree in the plaza while my translator guarded my valuables. Life doesn’t get much better than this! Then back to Copiapo across the moonscape to find a copying and printing shop to attend to some business and decide on the next stopover point. Ciao for now!