Chile – Crasstalk

An Unsuccessful Attempt at Crossing the Strait of Magellan

The 8 1/2 hours of sleep on a horizontal hotel mattress was pure bliss. You see, I just spent the last four days riding one bus after another for 5,000 kilometers– down the entire length of Chile. I planned on waking up early so that I could walk around the town of Punta Arenas and take pictures of cars, but I am still tired and it’s windy outside.

On my hotel room TV, CNN is doing a story about how Unilever is profiting in Kenya by selling consumer goods like soap in single servings. This reminds me of my friend’s parents’ liquor store in Los Angeles, which sells individual cigarettes to the poor because they don’t have the money to buy an entire pack.

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Touring the Chuquicamata Copper Mining Pit

Though Lonely Planet describes Calama as a “shithole”, the Chilean mining town is one of my favorite stops in all of South America. I arrived late last night and unnecessarily walked briskly to my hotel. I say unnecessarily because the town was perfectly safe, orderly, and pleasant.

There’s a lot of money here because of the copper mine. Like any boom town based on oil or minerals, you’ve got lots of overpriced yet austere looking hotels, and a skewed male to female population ratio. Continue reading →

A Visit to Humberstone, a Nitrate Mining Ghost Town in the Atacama Desert

3:13 p.m. What a day. I can finally relax. I’m sitting in an open air restaurant and eating the most amazing fish caldillo. It’s a simple soup served in a giant cast iron bowl. Huge, tender chunks of fish (too hungry to ask what kind), potatoes, tomatoes, and onions are cooked with lemon, cilantro, peppers, and garlic. The soup base is not thick, but is substantial enough to be a meal in itself. I’m eating a scalding hot soup on a scorching day, surrounded by cheesy Christmas decorations. And I’m lovin’ it. Continue reading →

Lauca National Park in Chile

I take another break from my 4,000+ mile bus journey through South America to do some proper sightseeing. Today, I ride in a medium-sized tour bus from the coastal city of Arica, Chile, and visit the Andes mountains, right on the border with Bolivia. Lauca National Park is my destination. Its most iconic site is Lake Chungara, which is surrounded by snow-capped volcanoes.

All of the other passengers on the bus are Chilean and Brazilian tourists. Like Noah’s Ark, they all came in pairs. I am the exception, as I am doing this trip on my own. I will rendezvous with my wife at the bottom of the world, in Ushuaia, at the end of the bus trip. More on that later. Continue reading →

An Afternoon In Arica, Chile

Preface: In December 2010, I traveled over 4,000 miles by bus from Lima, Peru, all the way to the tip of South America in Ushuaia, Argentina. After my Peruvian leg, I took a break and hung out in Arica, near the Peruvian and Bolivian borders with Chile. It is a port town in the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth.

After a light-hearted moment at the border, in which I had to pantomime to customs officials what the beef jerky in my backpack was, I reached the extraordinarily clean city of Arica. After my stint in Peru, I grew accustomed to a moderate level of general filth. Arica’s prosperity became quickly apparent as I saw two metrosexual dudes zip past me in a BMW Z3 with the top down. Continue reading →