Day 77. Wednesday 13th October. From 17miles south of Taltal to 20k’s north of Copiapo. Chile. 179 miles or 288k’s.

Our camp site last night was delightful. I think knowing we were not alone on the deserted beach, provided some security. Not that we have been unsafe, anywhere. The ocean beside us was peaceful.

A 10am start and for the drive south, we are headed for Copiapo, about 280k’s away. It’s a grey morning but Poki is enjoying the dense moist air. The first 20k’s are continuing along the rocky coast road. Meandering where the road is easier laid amongst the rocky terrian. There are mines (not land mines..:)), at regular intervals. The road is narrow but sealed and adequate. After the 20k mark we are back on Ruta 5. A main North-south highway and quite heavily infested with big trucks that travel faster than us.

Again, endless shrines to accident victims. We pass the scene of an accident on the opposite side of the road. Somehow… a huge semitrailer is lying on it’s side with its wheels facing us. Trying to get a photo quickly with my sophisticated camera, is a nightmare. The lens is already set at manual, for finer focus, but in a hurry, the resultant photo tells the tale…:( I miss my Casio Elixim camera!

We stop for lunch at Caldera. A clapboard, dusty streeted settlement, that is swarming with big trucks, where Jen buys some bread rolls and we stop overlooking the sea and have a brew up of tea and bite to eat. There is a bulk carrier in the bay, loading ore of some kind.

The signpost say’s Santiago 1000k’s.

20k’s short of Copiapo, Jen has found a campsite. They are very scarce things in this part of Chile, so we call it quits at 3.45pm. It’s time for a shower. We haven’t had one for three days!!!

An impressive cactii display outside the next door neighbour’s fence.

Our camp for the night.

There is not a sole around and the last Overlander to report staying here, was in January this year. The place has at some point in the past, been a popular, well presented site, but it’s showing serious neglect and we wonder if it is still operating? Looking around we find water pouring into a disused looking swimming pool, and not having the slightest impact on it’s level. Waiting for someone to turn up I decided the water would be put to good use, washing Poki. She’s covered in dust and dirt. Also, making use of the water, topped up our tanks. No sense in buying the stuff!!

Ultimately Leo turns up, blurry eyed and slurring his speech, but he’s a good natured soul and he quickly makes us feel at home.

After settling in and putting the caranex up, his dog has befriended us. It also is good natured and we have a game of catch-me-if-you-can. He’s the fastest dog I’ve ever seen, and there’s no chance of catching him. but he keeps making me try..:) Good exercise and Jen calls out, “what age are you”. Enough of that!…:)

After dinner I’m sitting outside the caranex typing and the dog has his eye on me. It’s 8.15pm and getting darker and cooler. So, I’ll call it quits and get this posted. Not a lot of excitement or drama today. It’s been pleasant motoring and we are quite quickly making our way south. It must be time for a day off too. If we find a nice spot.

Views: 61

2 Comments:

  1. I was in Chile in 2000 (Santiago to Porto Montt) visiting forest nurseries.
    We were surprised like you with the amount of Shines, built to protract the sprits we were told, but we understood that not all were from road accidents, but our guides were not forthcoming with what none road accidents would entail. Pinochet had only been out of power a few years, his during time many people just disappeared which left us wondering? In fact no one would talk or mention Pinochet, there was obviously still a lot of distrust in the county

  2. Hi Bob,
    Thanks for the great input. There had to be a different answer to the huge number of shrines! I had completely forgotten the terror of the Pinochet era of 1973 to 1998. Still too raw for the people when you visited!

    Dennis.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.