Going for a 3 day "southern circuit" Uyuni tour.
Crossed the border to Bolivia, they didn't check any bags, so I got in with all my fruits and vegetables, meet, cheese and yogurt! Damn Chilenians ! :) In our group were 9 French, 2 from Finland and 1 girl Megan from California whom I've pretty much spent all the time with. That's the time when I realized that I don't like French and Dutch. All the French that I've met during this trip were either super weird, or super rude. They all gang up, and just speak French to each other, meanwhile ignoring every else, and they all know either Spanish or English, they just don't care! We went in 2 jeeps (there are no roads in there). First day we drove around 3 cooooool lagoons. The first one is a white laggon. It is actually white from Potassium. The 2nd lagoon was green from copper and the 3rd laggon was red from algie that grows in it. Then we saw some glazers which were different from the ones in San Pedro. These were bubbling from mud. It was like 1 big soup :) This was so beautiful. It's a huge desert, with snow caped mountains around us. The space was huge, and we were the only ones in it. It felt so peaceful. We drove, and stopped at all points of interests. At night it was so cold. I had 3 layers on, both pants and top, and slept under 5 blankets (with all the cloths on + the hat). Next day we saw a lot of different rock formations, a lagoon that was all frozen where we "skated". It was cool because that lagoon was in the middle of the dessert - which is usually hot. The 2nd half of the day there was more vegitation, more people, electricity lines, less stops, and less impressive views, and I started to get irritated. The 2nd night was much better. It was weird that there were 6 beds in each room, 13 of us, and I was the last one to get out of the car, so I got stuck in a room all by myself :S
Next morning we got up at 5am to see the sunrise. I think I saw more sunrises this month then in all of my lifetime. I like sunsets better though :) Good thing I knew where my flashlight was, since it was pitch black. We were driving and driving on the salt flats. It was a sea long long time ago, some of it has dried, and it's just salt. We did a bunch of perspective shots, saw a hotel that's completely made out of salt blocks and that's pretty much it.
Some history
Bolivar - El Libertador
"There have been three great fools in history: Jesus, Don Quixote and I". So Simon Bolivar the man who brought independence from Spanish rule to modern day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia summed up his life shortly before he died abandoned, poor and rejected.
Simon Bolivar was born on July 24, 1783. His father died five years later, and his mother when he was nine yearld old. The boy was brought up by his uncle and was taught by tutor Simon Rodriguez, an open minded mentor who had a strong formative influence on his pupil.
In 1799 the younge Bolivar was sent to Spain and France to continue his education. After mastering French, he turned his attention to that country's literature. Voltaire and Rousseau became his favourite authors. Their works introduced him to the progressive ideas of leberalism and, as it turned out, would determine the course of his life.
In 1802 Bolivar married his Spanish bride, Maria Teresa Rodrigues del Toro, and a short time later the young couple sailed for Caracas, but eight months later Maria Teresa died of yellow fever. Although Bolivar never remarried, he had many lovers. The most devoted of these was Manuela Saenz, whom he met in Quito in 1822 and who stayed with him almost until his final days.
The death of Maria Teresa marked a drastic shift in Bolivar's destiny. He returned to France, where he met with the leaders of the French Revolution and then traveled to the USA to take a close look at the new order after the American Revolution. By the time he returned to Caracas in 1807, he was full of revolutionary theories and experiences taken from these two successful examples. It didn't take him long to join the clandestien pro-independence circles.
At the time, disillusionment with Spanish rule was close to breaking into open revolt. On April 19, 1810 the Junta Suprema was installed in Caracas, and on July 5, 1811 the Congress declared independence. This turned out to be the beginning of the long and bitter war, most of which was to be orchestrated by Bolivar.
Simon Bolivar's military career began under Francisco de Miranda, the first Venezuelan leader of the independence movement. After Miranda was captured by the Spanish in 1812, Bolivar took over command. Battle followed battle with astonishing frequency until 1824. Of those battles personallly directed by Bolivar, the independence forces won 35, including a few key ones: the Battle of Boyaca which secured the independence of Colombia; the battle of Carabobo which brought freedom to Venezuela; and the battle of Pichinca which led to liberation of Ecuador.
In September 1822 the Argentine liberator General Jose de san Martin who had occupied Lima, abandoned the city to the Spanish, and Bolivar took over the task of winning in Peru. On August 6, 1824, his army was victorious at the Battle of Junin, and on December 9, 1824 General Antonio Jose de Sucre inflicted a final defeat at the Battle of Ayacuchu. Peru, which included Alto Peru, had been leberated and the war was over. On August 6, 1825, the first anniversary of the Battle of Junin, Bolivia declared independence from Peru at Sucre and the new republic was christened "Bolivia", after the liberator.
Bolivar could now get down to his long awaited dream: Gran Colombia, the unified state comprising Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, became a reality. However the task of setting the newborn state on its feet proved even more difficult than winning battles. "I fear peace more than war", Bolivar wrote in a letter, aware of the difficulties ahead.
The main problem was the great regional and racial differences in Gran Colombia, which Bolivar, as president, was unable to hold together, even with strong central rule. The new state began to collapse from the moment of its birth. However, the president insisted upon holding the union together, although it was rapidly slipping from its hands. The impassioned speeched for which he was widely known could no longer sway the growing opposition, and his glory and charisma faded.In August 1828, he took drastic action: he ousted his vise presient Santander and set up a dictatorship, maintaining that "Our America can only be rules through a well-managed, shrewd despotism". His popularity waned further, as did his circle of friends and supporters, and a short time after, he miraculously escaped an assassination attempt in Bogota. Disillusioned and in poor health, he resigned from the presidency in early 1830 and planned to leave for Europe, just in time for the formal disintegration of Gran Colombia.
Venezuela broke away in 1830, approved a new congress and banned Bolivar from his homeland. A month later, Antonio Jose de Sucre, Bolivar's closest friend, was assassinated in southern Colombia. These two news items reached Bolivar just as he was about to board a ship for France. Depressed and ill, he accepted the inviation of a Spaniard, Joaquin de Mier, to stay in his home in Stanta Marta, Colombia.
Bolivar died on December 17, 1830 of pulmonary tuberculosis. A priest, a doctor and a few officers were by his bed, but none of these were his close friends. Joaqin de Mier donated one of his shirts to dress the body, as there had been none among Bolivar's humble belongings. Perhaps the most important figure in the history of the South American continet had died.
In took the Venezuelan nation 12 years to acknowledge its debt to the man to whom it owed its freedom. In 1842 Bolivar's remains were brought from santa Marta to Venezuela and depostied in the cathedral in Caracas. In 1876 they were solemnly transferred to the Pantheon in Caracas, where they now rest. Today, Bolivar is once again a hero, his reputation polished and inflated to almost superhuman dimensions. His cult is particularly strong in Venezuela, but he's also widely venerated in the other nations he freed. His statue graces nearly every central city plaza and at least one street in every town bears his name.
El Libertador - as he was called at the beginning of his liberation campaigns and is also called today - was undoubtedly a man of extraordinary gifts. An idealist with a poetic mind and visionary ideas, his goal was not only to topple Spanish rule but also to create a unified America. This of course, proved an impossible idea, yet the military conquest of some five million square kilometers remains a phenomenal accomplishment. This inspired amateur with no formal training in war won battles n a manner that still confounds the experts.
One of the final remarks in Bolivar's diary reads, "My name now belongs to history. It will do me justice." And history has duly done so.
****************************
Tinku - the art of ritual mayhem
Native to the northern part of Potosi department, tinku fighting ranks as one of the few Bolivian traditions that has yet to be commercialized. This bizarre practice lies deeply rooted in indigenous tradition and is thus often misunderstood by outsiders, who can make little sense of the violent and often grisly spectacle.
Tinku may be best interpreted as a means for campesinos to forget the hardships of daily life. Festivities begin with singing and dancing, but participants eventually drink themsleves into a stupor. As a result, celebrations may well erupt into drunken mayhem and sometimes violence, as alcoholically charged emotions are unleashed in hostile encounters. While some may claim that these brawls serve to release stress, frustration, anger and grudges, the sense of it all normally escapes any Western spectators.
A tinku usually lasts two or three days, when men and women in brightly colored traditional dress hike in from surrounding communities. The hats worn by the men strongly resemble those originally worn by the spanish conquistadores, but are topped Robin-Hood-style with one long, fluorescent feather.
On the first evening, the communities parade through town to the accompaniment of charagos and zamponas. Periodically, the revelers halt and form two concentric circles, with women on the inside and the men in the outer circle. The women begin singing a typically repetitious and cacophonous chant while the men run in a circle around them. Suddenly, everyone stops and launches into a powerful stomping dance. Each group is headed by at least one person who uses a whip to urge on any man whom he perceives isn't keeping up with the rhythm and the pace.
This routine may seem harmless enough, except that alcohol plays a significant and controlling role. All of the men and most of the women carry clear plastic bottles filled with puro (rubbing alcohol), which is the drink of choice if the intent is to quickly become totally plastered. By nightfall, each participating community retreats to a designated house to drink chica until they pass out.
This excessive imbibing inevitably results in social disorder, and by the second day the drunk participants tend to grow increasingly aggressive. As they roam the streets, they encounter people from other communities with whom they may have some quarrel, either real or imagined. Common complaints include anything from land disputes to extramarital affairs to the theft of farm animals, and may well result in a challenge to fight.
The situation rapidly progresses past yelling and cursing to pushing and shoving, before it turns into a rather mystical - almost choreographed - warfare. Seemingly rhythmically, men strike each other's heads and upper bodies with extended arms. To augment the hand-to-hand combat, the fighters may also throw rocks at their opponent, occasionally causing serious injury or death. Any fatalities however, are resignedly considered a blood offering to Pachamama (mother earth) in lieu of a llama sacrifice for the same purpose.
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/Uyuni#
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Arica, Iquique, Calama and San Pedro
They took my propolis in Chili, bustards !! You can't take anything in, they're so strict, but only on paper. They barely check the bags. But if they do find an apple for ex, they fine you $100. First thing we hear when the bus entered Chili territory was "it's illegal to throw garbage out of the windows". And what a difference, the roads are spotless. And those are the best roads I've ridden on for the longest time. The changes I noticed right away were: good roads, good teeth, people are walking and enjoying themselves, dressed nice, cars actually slow down when you cross the road, and I didn't have a feeling like somebody will run me over, they also use turn indicators, solar powered street lamps, spotless streets, less homeless and dirty dogs running around, banks give out more money.
Arrived in Arica, the taxi driver told me everything there is to know about the city, showed me where everything is, since I didn't have a guidebook, and had no idea where to go and what to do. Took me some time to find a hostel. Everything is so expensive, over $20. Finally found something for $9. Went to the market to eat. The food is obviously much much better, and salad actually means a nice big salad, not a piece of tomato. Some woman was eating "hurma", I didn't have it in ages. I asked her where to buy it, and she said the place is already closed, and gave it to me as a present :) That was so sweet :) Even with the taxi driver being nice, and the lady in the market, I could really feel that people are less open in here, and less friendly, but I think it's this way in every civilized country. People think more of jobs, security, power, and less about family and the simple things. Overall I've been in Chili for 5 days (until I got to the south border of Bolivia), felt like I've been there for a month, I couldn't believe just 5 days passed, and overall, it's my least favorite country so far in South America ... I don't know ... just doesn't feel right. At the beginning, I couldn't understand their Spanish at all. I tried and I tried, and nothing, not a word, what's going on??? Later on I met a girl who lived in Santiago for a year, and she said that she had to study Spanish and Chilenian, apparently they use a lot of slang words that are unique to Chili, well that explains it!
My head doesn't think math anymore. Went to an ATM (exchange rate is $1 = 600 pesos). Lets see 200,000/600 = hmmm ... taking away 2 zeros that's 2000/6 = ummm .... "YES I do need more time for my transaction !!!!!" :))
Arica is in north of Chili on the coast, and is considered to be the eternal spring city. I don't know, didn't feel like spring to much, it was windy and cloudy. The whole north of Chili (about 1/4) is a dessert. It's actually the driest dessert in the world ... didn't know it ! So it's cloudy, but it never rains. It's difficult to do construction in Arica, because there lived an ancient civilization, so they start digging, and find some burial sites, and that's it, construction is stopped, and is converted into a museum ... ( I assume Boris would be very pissed with that :)) ). Went to one of these museums. It had 50 bodies. This culture mummified everybody, not just important people, and treated children with special care. One child mummy had a red hair, and they get more shells or pottery or stuff. Their teeth were very good because they didn't eat any carbs, mostly sea food. They were excellent fishermen.
Next was a battery on the hill. I looked up the hill, oh no, another climb up. But I didn't feel it at all. I'm so used to climbing in high altitudes, but this is at sea level, and I almost run up :) Went to another museum, which was pretty boring, but interesting in the fact that it was first military museum, not some ancient civilization.
The drive to Iquique (my next destination) was 3.5 hours, and I wanted to get there while there was light, so I didn't have enough time to visit another museum which has the oldest mommies in the world 10,000 years old !! And they had some different techniques, so they're black and red, something I haven't seen before.
Took a bus to Iquique ... soooo expensive !!! 3.5 hours ride was $12!!!! In Bolivia it would be $2 !! Felt very weird to bargain (you do it everywhere else), but here it seemed so civilized. Anyway, I politely asked if I could get it for $10, and they agreed quite easily. They told me to go to gate 3, went there, and the bus was standing already, and it was like 10 minutes before departure time, so I slid the gate open, and went outside, when the driver met me and said "don't you see the door is closed, please wait inside until we call you" ... yeaahhh ... right !!! OMG in other places you wouldn't get anywhere unless you're a bit aggressive. Drove 3.5 hours through nothing, naked mountains, not even cactuses grow here. Good thing that I got out earlier, and came to Iquique at 6pm. The bus terminal is in the market area (usually considered to be dangerous area), I walked and walked and walked with my heavy backpack for like 40 minutes. All places charge $20, no way I'm staying there. And usually if it's expensive you just ask where is the cheap place and they point it out to you, but not here. The response is "I don't know" :( Finally found one for $9. The place is nice, clean with king size bed. Went to the internet cafe, and found 1 hostel in this city. I'll move there tomorrow. During the next day there was a tsunami drill. In February 8.6 earthquake hit Chili, and 2 hours later tsunami came. The people had enough time to get away, but they just stayed in their homes (especially outside the cities), everything was destroyed !! Now the scientists predict another earthquake/tsunami in September. So everything got shot down at 12pm, alarm sounded, military jets, helicopters, ambulances, police were all circling around. All around the city there are signs where to run to incase of the tsunami. All places have maps outlining the safety areas within the city. There were so many people outside, it's unbelievable! Walked around the waterfront which is considered to be the most beautiful waterfront in the country. It was alright, you can't compare it to Guayaquil (Ecuador).
Next day I wanted to go to Humberstone which is a ghost town of miners who left it in the 50s, and nobody lived there since. I found some people in the hostel who wanted to go there by car, which was cool. We rented a car for $20/day. It was some 94' sports model of Honda, it was all beaten up, but the engine was still strong. I got a really cool feeling out of the town, I usually don't feel anything, but in there it was strange, like I was in some ghetto or something. Too bad there was no furniture left, mostly just walls and walls. Broken windows, everything rusty. Saw houses, swimming pool, a theatre, some sections were closed off because things are falling apart. The coolest thing was the factories which still had most of the equipment in there. Afterwards went to some geocliff, which was a big waste of time. It is the largest human figure of 86 meters. And then went to Pica - a lemon and other fruits desert oasis which produces the best limes for pisco sour ( a popular alcoholic drink ). Drove back, desert, desert and more desert. It was pretty on the way back because there was a sunset and the whole desert was lit, and from boring brown, it turned into glowing red. Got on an 11pm bus to Calama which is a mandatory stop for a super touristic town of San Pedro which is on the border with Bolivia. But in Calama there is the largest open pit copper mine in the world (4X3X1km), so I couldn't miss it! On the bus there were many empty seats, so I moved to the seat that doesn't have a neighbor, the "bus attendant" told me that there is one more stop, and if people will have my new seat, he'll wake me up. Nobody woke me up, but the whole night I was dreaming of people who would :) 2am checkpoint !! So stupid ! Everybody got out, took their bags, in a freezing freezing temperature, and they didn't check anything at all ... grrr, so frustrating ! Got to Calama at 5am. I asked later, it was -7C, and with wind around -25C! Everything was still closed, we put the warmest cloths on, took out a sleeping bag, and waited for 8am to come for the tourist office to open up. Calama - what an ugly city ! Well, I knew it, so wasn't too surprised. Got to the tourist office, and there was only 1 space left on the tour for that day! Wow, lucky me! But, the tour starts only at 1pm :S Went to some mall, hung around there, wanted to see a movie while waiting, but there were no morning shows. On the map it was only a few blocks till where I needed to be for the tour. I left earlier not to be in rush, and in what a rush I was ... the blocks are huge !!!! It took maybe 3 times as long as a normal block, so I barely made it in time. The tour was very interesting, our guide just knew so much ! I bugged him with endless questions though:
where do they make the machines?
and where do they maintain them?
what do they make out of copper?
how much does it take to produce each plate?
etc, etc, etc ...
sometimes he got a little bit overwhelmed and nervous, but he did answer all of them :) The company provided these tours, I still don't know why, and they're free ! We drove to the miners town which was abandoned in 2008 due to new regulations saying that nobody should live in 10km radius from the mine due to health concerns, and this town was only 1.5 km away. Back then the company paid for everything, and houses were free. Right now all the workers live in Calama, they have to pay a third of the price of the house, but at least they own it. The mine was owned by a US company, but not anymore. There is a 5 step process to make the copper plates. 1. Crash the rocks and get them on the truck. 2. The rocks are put into a machine that crashes them into a powder. 3. The powder is put in some water solution, where some of the copper flows to the top. 4. They collect it and dry it. This powder contains 30% copper. 5. The powder is put into a solution with stainless steel plate, turn on electricity, and the copper attaches itself to a plate, and they remove it. This plate is 99.997% pure copper. It weighs about 125 kg, and costs $1000. The main clients are Asia and Germany and goes for production of electronics. The mine works 24 hours a day, with 3 8 hour shifts. The trucks that transport the rocks from the bottom to the top are the largest tracks in the world. They weigh 300 tons, and can carry 400 tons. Each tire costs $40,000 and lasts just 1 year. The truck during the shift burns 2500 liters of diesel! Out of 100 kg of rocks, only 1 kg of copper is produced. Beside the town there are artificial hills of all the "garbage". Soon they will start to bury the town, because it costs too much to transport it too far. They also have 15 km of underground tunnels. The trucks were coming and coming, there was almost no distance between them. There are cars that drive around and all of them have an antenna with a flag on the top, so that the drivers could see them.
I heard that in San Pedro food is very expensive and advised me to buy food in advance. I went to the store and bought 3 huge bags (p.s. right now it's a week later, and I still have all the bags :) ). San Pedro is really really cool, there are so many things to do. I went to three tours. One was star gazing tour. The guide was so funny, for 3 hours our stomach hurt from laughter. We saw stars and planets through 8 telescopes. Mars, Venus, the coolest of all was of course Saturn :))) Alpha Centauri which is actually 2 stars. One telescope was pointing to the milky way which looks like something cloudy from earth, but through the telescope there were thousands of stars ( well, I knew that :) ). He showed us different constellations like Scorpio and virgin. Here in the southern hemisphere, the southern cross points to the south. Anyway, you have to be there to enjoy it :) Next day at 4am went to glazers tour, which was amazing, but cooolld !!! -20C! It's this humongous field which is a volcano crater. There is water underneath that comes in contact with hot rocks which are heated by the magma underneath, and produces vapor. It's best to see in the morning because the difference in temperature makes the glazers more impressive. Our guide stood above the hole, looked right down at it, and told us that it will start bubbling in 8 minutes and we should time it, and it actually did. It was really cool. It started boiling slowly and slowly and then really violently and spraying the water everywhere. There were a few people who died in there, taking pictures mostly. Because the water is 96 degrees. There are hot springs in there, but no way I'm getting in :) Around 9 the guide asked us if we were finally warm, Oh yes, it's sunny and so warm here! Why, what's the temperature? ... it was -6C ! Dojilis' !! :))
Later that day went to the valle de la luna (moon valley). It's called like that because the landscape resembles the landscape on the moon. It was very very impressive. Saw the sunset from some mountain. The shadows that were created completely changed the scene, and the mountains in the back turned red.
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/AricaIquiqueCalamaAndSanPedro#
Arrived in Arica, the taxi driver told me everything there is to know about the city, showed me where everything is, since I didn't have a guidebook, and had no idea where to go and what to do. Took me some time to find a hostel. Everything is so expensive, over $20. Finally found something for $9. Went to the market to eat. The food is obviously much much better, and salad actually means a nice big salad, not a piece of tomato. Some woman was eating "hurma", I didn't have it in ages. I asked her where to buy it, and she said the place is already closed, and gave it to me as a present :) That was so sweet :) Even with the taxi driver being nice, and the lady in the market, I could really feel that people are less open in here, and less friendly, but I think it's this way in every civilized country. People think more of jobs, security, power, and less about family and the simple things. Overall I've been in Chili for 5 days (until I got to the south border of Bolivia), felt like I've been there for a month, I couldn't believe just 5 days passed, and overall, it's my least favorite country so far in South America ... I don't know ... just doesn't feel right. At the beginning, I couldn't understand their Spanish at all. I tried and I tried, and nothing, not a word, what's going on??? Later on I met a girl who lived in Santiago for a year, and she said that she had to study Spanish and Chilenian, apparently they use a lot of slang words that are unique to Chili, well that explains it!
My head doesn't think math anymore. Went to an ATM (exchange rate is $1 = 600 pesos). Lets see 200,000/600 = hmmm ... taking away 2 zeros that's 2000/6 = ummm .... "YES I do need more time for my transaction !!!!!" :))
Arica is in north of Chili on the coast, and is considered to be the eternal spring city. I don't know, didn't feel like spring to much, it was windy and cloudy. The whole north of Chili (about 1/4) is a dessert. It's actually the driest dessert in the world ... didn't know it ! So it's cloudy, but it never rains. It's difficult to do construction in Arica, because there lived an ancient civilization, so they start digging, and find some burial sites, and that's it, construction is stopped, and is converted into a museum ... ( I assume Boris would be very pissed with that :)) ). Went to one of these museums. It had 50 bodies. This culture mummified everybody, not just important people, and treated children with special care. One child mummy had a red hair, and they get more shells or pottery or stuff. Their teeth were very good because they didn't eat any carbs, mostly sea food. They were excellent fishermen.
Next was a battery on the hill. I looked up the hill, oh no, another climb up. But I didn't feel it at all. I'm so used to climbing in high altitudes, but this is at sea level, and I almost run up :) Went to another museum, which was pretty boring, but interesting in the fact that it was first military museum, not some ancient civilization.
The drive to Iquique (my next destination) was 3.5 hours, and I wanted to get there while there was light, so I didn't have enough time to visit another museum which has the oldest mommies in the world 10,000 years old !! And they had some different techniques, so they're black and red, something I haven't seen before.
Took a bus to Iquique ... soooo expensive !!! 3.5 hours ride was $12!!!! In Bolivia it would be $2 !! Felt very weird to bargain (you do it everywhere else), but here it seemed so civilized. Anyway, I politely asked if I could get it for $10, and they agreed quite easily. They told me to go to gate 3, went there, and the bus was standing already, and it was like 10 minutes before departure time, so I slid the gate open, and went outside, when the driver met me and said "don't you see the door is closed, please wait inside until we call you" ... yeaahhh ... right !!! OMG in other places you wouldn't get anywhere unless you're a bit aggressive. Drove 3.5 hours through nothing, naked mountains, not even cactuses grow here. Good thing that I got out earlier, and came to Iquique at 6pm. The bus terminal is in the market area (usually considered to be dangerous area), I walked and walked and walked with my heavy backpack for like 40 minutes. All places charge $20, no way I'm staying there. And usually if it's expensive you just ask where is the cheap place and they point it out to you, but not here. The response is "I don't know" :( Finally found one for $9. The place is nice, clean with king size bed. Went to the internet cafe, and found 1 hostel in this city. I'll move there tomorrow. During the next day there was a tsunami drill. In February 8.6 earthquake hit Chili, and 2 hours later tsunami came. The people had enough time to get away, but they just stayed in their homes (especially outside the cities), everything was destroyed !! Now the scientists predict another earthquake/tsunami in September. So everything got shot down at 12pm, alarm sounded, military jets, helicopters, ambulances, police were all circling around. All around the city there are signs where to run to incase of the tsunami. All places have maps outlining the safety areas within the city. There were so many people outside, it's unbelievable! Walked around the waterfront which is considered to be the most beautiful waterfront in the country. It was alright, you can't compare it to Guayaquil (Ecuador).
Next day I wanted to go to Humberstone which is a ghost town of miners who left it in the 50s, and nobody lived there since. I found some people in the hostel who wanted to go there by car, which was cool. We rented a car for $20/day. It was some 94' sports model of Honda, it was all beaten up, but the engine was still strong. I got a really cool feeling out of the town, I usually don't feel anything, but in there it was strange, like I was in some ghetto or something. Too bad there was no furniture left, mostly just walls and walls. Broken windows, everything rusty. Saw houses, swimming pool, a theatre, some sections were closed off because things are falling apart. The coolest thing was the factories which still had most of the equipment in there. Afterwards went to some geocliff, which was a big waste of time. It is the largest human figure of 86 meters. And then went to Pica - a lemon and other fruits desert oasis which produces the best limes for pisco sour ( a popular alcoholic drink ). Drove back, desert, desert and more desert. It was pretty on the way back because there was a sunset and the whole desert was lit, and from boring brown, it turned into glowing red. Got on an 11pm bus to Calama which is a mandatory stop for a super touristic town of San Pedro which is on the border with Bolivia. But in Calama there is the largest open pit copper mine in the world (4X3X1km), so I couldn't miss it! On the bus there were many empty seats, so I moved to the seat that doesn't have a neighbor, the "bus attendant" told me that there is one more stop, and if people will have my new seat, he'll wake me up. Nobody woke me up, but the whole night I was dreaming of people who would :) 2am checkpoint !! So stupid ! Everybody got out, took their bags, in a freezing freezing temperature, and they didn't check anything at all ... grrr, so frustrating ! Got to Calama at 5am. I asked later, it was -7C, and with wind around -25C! Everything was still closed, we put the warmest cloths on, took out a sleeping bag, and waited for 8am to come for the tourist office to open up. Calama - what an ugly city ! Well, I knew it, so wasn't too surprised. Got to the tourist office, and there was only 1 space left on the tour for that day! Wow, lucky me! But, the tour starts only at 1pm :S Went to some mall, hung around there, wanted to see a movie while waiting, but there were no morning shows. On the map it was only a few blocks till where I needed to be for the tour. I left earlier not to be in rush, and in what a rush I was ... the blocks are huge !!!! It took maybe 3 times as long as a normal block, so I barely made it in time. The tour was very interesting, our guide just knew so much ! I bugged him with endless questions though:
where do they make the machines?
and where do they maintain them?
what do they make out of copper?
how much does it take to produce each plate?
etc, etc, etc ...
sometimes he got a little bit overwhelmed and nervous, but he did answer all of them :) The company provided these tours, I still don't know why, and they're free ! We drove to the miners town which was abandoned in 2008 due to new regulations saying that nobody should live in 10km radius from the mine due to health concerns, and this town was only 1.5 km away. Back then the company paid for everything, and houses were free. Right now all the workers live in Calama, they have to pay a third of the price of the house, but at least they own it. The mine was owned by a US company, but not anymore. There is a 5 step process to make the copper plates. 1. Crash the rocks and get them on the truck. 2. The rocks are put into a machine that crashes them into a powder. 3. The powder is put in some water solution, where some of the copper flows to the top. 4. They collect it and dry it. This powder contains 30% copper. 5. The powder is put into a solution with stainless steel plate, turn on electricity, and the copper attaches itself to a plate, and they remove it. This plate is 99.997% pure copper. It weighs about 125 kg, and costs $1000. The main clients are Asia and Germany and goes for production of electronics. The mine works 24 hours a day, with 3 8 hour shifts. The trucks that transport the rocks from the bottom to the top are the largest tracks in the world. They weigh 300 tons, and can carry 400 tons. Each tire costs $40,000 and lasts just 1 year. The truck during the shift burns 2500 liters of diesel! Out of 100 kg of rocks, only 1 kg of copper is produced. Beside the town there are artificial hills of all the "garbage". Soon they will start to bury the town, because it costs too much to transport it too far. They also have 15 km of underground tunnels. The trucks were coming and coming, there was almost no distance between them. There are cars that drive around and all of them have an antenna with a flag on the top, so that the drivers could see them.
I heard that in San Pedro food is very expensive and advised me to buy food in advance. I went to the store and bought 3 huge bags (p.s. right now it's a week later, and I still have all the bags :) ). San Pedro is really really cool, there are so many things to do. I went to three tours. One was star gazing tour. The guide was so funny, for 3 hours our stomach hurt from laughter. We saw stars and planets through 8 telescopes. Mars, Venus, the coolest of all was of course Saturn :))) Alpha Centauri which is actually 2 stars. One telescope was pointing to the milky way which looks like something cloudy from earth, but through the telescope there were thousands of stars ( well, I knew that :) ). He showed us different constellations like Scorpio and virgin. Here in the southern hemisphere, the southern cross points to the south. Anyway, you have to be there to enjoy it :) Next day at 4am went to glazers tour, which was amazing, but cooolld !!! -20C! It's this humongous field which is a volcano crater. There is water underneath that comes in contact with hot rocks which are heated by the magma underneath, and produces vapor. It's best to see in the morning because the difference in temperature makes the glazers more impressive. Our guide stood above the hole, looked right down at it, and told us that it will start bubbling in 8 minutes and we should time it, and it actually did. It was really cool. It started boiling slowly and slowly and then really violently and spraying the water everywhere. There were a few people who died in there, taking pictures mostly. Because the water is 96 degrees. There are hot springs in there, but no way I'm getting in :) Around 9 the guide asked us if we were finally warm, Oh yes, it's sunny and so warm here! Why, what's the temperature? ... it was -6C ! Dojilis' !! :))
Later that day went to the valle de la luna (moon valley). It's called like that because the landscape resembles the landscape on the moon. It was very very impressive. Saw the sunset from some mountain. The shadows that were created completely changed the scene, and the mountains in the back turned red.
pix at http://picasaweb.google.com/evadikushin501/AricaIquiqueCalamaAndSanPedro#
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