Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Operation Long White Cloud
We arrived in San Pedro at around lunchtime and went to our hotel. By this stage it was absolutely baking, at least 30 degrees. One stumble and the circling buzzards start to swoop down. A pleasent trip down from Bolivia (down meaning 2500m drop in altitude in 50 or so kms) apart other than despite several warnings one of our group had food on her as we tried to cross the border in to the country. I was gutted with her and felt the only thing was to help by eating it prior to the baggage check. Talk about taking one for the team!! Seriously though it could have delayed us for ages in the heat.
After being in Bolivia it was weird/slightly comforting to be somewhere as organised and modern as Chile. Clearly Chile is a wealthy country indeed although it must be said lacks some of the character that Bolivia has. 'Character' meaning your seat on a bus has been taking by a goat that just won't move, that sort of thing.
San Pedro was once a stopping point for cattle drovers but has become part of the tourist trail for those crossing the border to and from Bolivia and Argentina. On this basis it typically has lots of resturants and internet cafes etc. a town where everything is aimed at the tourist. We had a lazy afternoon here before heading out to dinner, a treat as the food quality in the desert wasn't great.
The next day bright and early (to avoid the heat) we went sandboarding on a large dune near the town. Essentially we walked to the top of the dune, strapped a wooden board to our feet with candle wax on the bottom to reduce friction and headed back down at a rate of knots. There is far less control or skill involved than in snowboarding and more trying to keep the speed upbut is it still great fun. The instructor was far less interested in anything other than seeing my solo rendition of the haka. After I refused I was kindly reminded that the All Blacks hadn't done so well in the World Cup. 'Let's stick to the task at hand mate' I thought as I planned to win gold in London 2012 in sandboarding. Laura was also well and truely in to it and we were both tired and very hot at the end of the session.
We retired to the hotel to avoid the hottest part of the day prior to heading on an evening tour. We visited the moon and death valleys as well as a panorama over the desert towards the Andes. Some very unusual landscapes are present due to the large amount of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and generally extreme conditions. We walked through the valley of death (as you do) and the guide pointed out a huge boulder on the track that had apparently fallen the week before. This had us nervously watching the valley walls!!
That evening as if to complete the experience there were two earthquakes. Only small ones but still having been through a few decent shakes in Hawkes Bay as a child they didn't fill me with joy. Laura was chalking the experience given Dublin isn't prone earthquakes. Didn't Greystones have one in the 80's?
The following morning we drove to Calama through the desert to the airport and flew to Santiago. As we came in to land it struck me how much the landscape looked like NZ, lots of rows of Poplar trees and green feilds. Santiago airport is a very modern affair which we breezed through and headed in to the city.
Our hotel was located in the heart of the city next to an amazing park called Cerro Santa Lucia located on a small but steep hill. This must have been a fort at one time but since had an amazing colonial dwelling built in to it. We took a few shots of the fountains etc. A very nice spot. We spent the afternoon looking about the cit and came to the conclusion that Santiago is far nicer than we had anticipated. We were told the weather at this time of year gets rid of a lot of the pollution that plagues the city in June and July but still it is a modern, enjoyable place.
The next day we again headed out into the city. We had a slight mission getting bus tickets to Pichilemu - third ticket office we went to was the one! After this we headed to Cerro San Cristobal where we took the ferniculr up to the top to check out the views. It was worth it as the views were stunning. One side overlooks the heart of the city to other towards the snow capped Andes. We headed down and back to the hotel prior to going out for some dinner and to say farewell to the group we had been travelling with. One too many cocktails were consumed but it was good fun. With clouded heads the next morning we packed up and got the bus to Pichilemu.
- comments