We stayed in Arica for two nights to get established in the country (i.e. get a local phone, currency, etc.) It was nice to be back in civilisation again as Chile is the only developed country in South America - and it shows. Mark had to revert to being a polite driver again i.e. stopping at crossings for pedestrians and so on. Arica is a port city only 18kms/11miles south of the Peru border and is also known as the driest inhabited place on earth with an annual rainfall of only 0.76mm/0.03 inches, although the town of Antofagasta also makes a claim on this title (see below).
At the top of Morro Hill the view of entire bay and city below is quite something.
Arica is also the home of the Chinchorro mummies - the remains of people from the Chinchorro culture and are the oldest examples of artificially mummified human remains, dating from around 5050 BC. The earliest Egyptian mummy found is dated around 3000 BC. The remains were found as builders dug the ground works for a new hotel - needless to say the hotel never got built. Now the complex is a museum where the remains are still in place covered by glass so as to preserve them. It was really strange walking across the glass floor.
We headed down the coast to the town of Iquique and had a lovely walk along the beach.
From Iquique we headed down to the port of Antofagasta and the most expensive place in Chile so far. It is closely linked to mining activity and has the highest GDP per capita of Chile. The mountains made for a great backdrop for the city. The Atacama desert coast is extremely arid and means the town of Antofagasta only receives an annual average rainfall of less than 0.1mm. On occasion they do get heavy rainfall causing mud flows and landslides.
From Antofagasta we took the inland route 5 and past the Mano Del Desierto or Hand of the Desert. The sculpture is 11m high and can be seen from quite a distance.
After spending a bit of time by the highway while Mark tinkered with the fan belt, we carried on south to Copiapo, then Coquimbo where the landscape became greener, and on to Valparaiso, a journey of over 1,300 miles.
During the second half of the twentieth century many wealthy families left Valparaisio and the opening of the Panama Canal meant a reduction in ship traffic for the port, serious blows to the economy. The city has slowly recovered over the last 15 years and now attracts artists to the hillside historic districts and there are many buildings with murals and colourful graffiti.
From Valparaiso we had a day trip to the Casablanca valley and visited a couple of wineries. Even though we enjoyed the tastings, it is very expensive here at around US$6 for a quarter of a glass. When we can buy a bottle for around US$15 I think we will take our chances in future and do that instead.
From Valparaiso we moved along the coast a bit to Vina Del Mar and enjoyed a few relaxing days there.
Now we're heading south through the lakes and national parks towards Puerto Montt and Patagonia
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