From Disaster To Heaven

Friday 2 February

The Radisson hotel was great – we had a large room with a super queen-size bed and luxury – it was only a shame we were only in it for two hours! We were starkly awoken by an early (!) morning call at 03.30 and staggered down to reception, only to wait a further 15 minutes and a phone call from the hotel to the taxi company, before our transport arrived.

Thinking our troubles were over, we made our way to the Lan Chile desks – which were not open yet (why people have to get to the airport before it even opens is a mystery to me). Eventually two ladies arrived and manned the booking in desks. All was going fine until it came to our luggage – reportedly 8 kgs over our allowance – and at US$6 per kilo, it was going to cost us more than 25 GBP for overweight cases! – we had only been charged 8 GBP in Russia! She wouldn’t let us take anything out to add to our hand luggage – not that we had an inch to spare there anyway – by this time we were expecting her to weigh these bags as well. But it wasn’t only us – almost everyone who went to the desk was charged – even just a kilo or so over the top. The luggage had gone through fine at Arica and we hadn’t opened our cases since – but they were too heavy, so we just had to pay! - will need to do some serious sorting before we fly again.

We made our way - along with the other passengers who had been booking in – to the security checking zone, only to be told it wouldn’t be open for another 15 minutes! We passed the time chatting to a girl who was on her way to join the staff of a cruise ship in Patagonia – one of the other persons who had had to pay the excess baggage charge. She had been flown to London from a ship in Bermuda on Wednesday to get a vaccination and a ship’s pass, before being flown back here to Santiago on Thursday, via Barcelona and Madrid, and was now on her way to Puerto Arenas in the south of Chile. This was the first time she had had to pay too.

Eventually the doors to security opened and we were checked through (surely there could be no more problems) – successfully - and at 06.30 we boarded the flight to Calama. We were served another half sandwich – this time ham and cheese – and some black tea. I slept most of the flight, as I was feeling exhausted – Colin said he didn’t sleep hardly at all – but he often says that after he has been zzzz-ing it all night! Getting off the plane at Calama airport – another tiny building in a green oasis in the middle of the Atacama Desert - the first thing we noticed was that it was quite cool and very windy. Luckily we weren’t there too long – there was an episode where I was queuing for the loo – there was only one ladies toilet – with another English lady, and we stood there over ten minutes waiting for it to become vacant – speculating what was going on inside! We came up with some fantastic options – but when finally the lady emerged, she just looked a bit embarrassed that the queue had stretch to six by this time.

A lady was outside the airport to greet us and hustled us off to a waiting minibus and driver. She said a hurried goodbye, and we sped off, through Calama, into the desert. The Calama we saw was like a housing estate – all the houses were exactly the same – detached, two stories with lots of windows at the sides and back - just the grilles around the properties, and a few extensions at the front where cars were usually parked, marked any differences. The main industry here is mining for lithium (used for batteries and depression pills), which takes place in an area about 10 kms outside the town. There is a lot of foreign investment in these mines, mainly from Japan and American companies, and according to our driver, lots of rules about health and safety and a well paid workforce, ensure the investment continues. The miners receive high wages compared with the local teachers, doctors and the like, which is why they can afford cars (many had two parked on the driveway), and large modern houses by South American standards.

The journey to San Pedro took about 1 ½ hours – over the Antiplano of the Andes – the middle plain. It was almost all bare rock and sand, ranging from deep red to dirty beige and grey. Chile is at its widest point here, and actually has another range of mountains running parallel to the Andes, between them and the sea. The area is surrounded by volcanoes, some of which are still active. The landscape had some fantastic rock formations, as well as large flat areas of nothing. Coming down from the mountains, we saw a huge salt lake spread in front of us, bordered on the other side by what is locally known as “Moon Valley” – it was other worldly – undulations of pale blues and greys in a large round bowl – you could instantly see correlation between it and the surface of the moon. It was truly beautiful, and I snapped as many photos as I could as we passed.

It wasn’t long then till we reached San Pedro town, a bustling oasis at the confluence of two rivers coming from the Andes, which surrounded the town. The metalled road stopped outside the town, and we were soon bumping along on rutted roads through the centre. All the houses here were small single storied, with adobe brick walls, mostly adobe roofs too. The overriding impression was brown mud. We saw lots of people, including many dressed up in sparkly costumes, accompanied by brass bands and drums, all hanging around, waiting for something to happen. Our hotel was just a few minutes down a dusty road, so we didn’t have any time to consider what was occurring. As we entered the grounds we passed by the stables with enough space for twenty or more horses – several were in their boxes and gave us a cursory glance as we passed. In a huge forecourt we were greeted by a friendly lady, who escorted us up a long stairway to reception. All the buildings appeared made of stone, painted white, with pine coloured wooden roofs, which fanned out like spokes from the main reception area.

Inside the “room” was huge – very spacious and airy with a very high apex ceiling - think of a large barn and treble it - with lots of comfy seating – covered in black and white animal fur covers in the reception area. Everywhere was very light as there were floor to roof windows, but very cool – a welcome respite from the burning sun outside – it was so much hotter than in Calama, and no wind. We were quickly booked in and shown to a very largish nice room, in one of the “spokes” radiating from the main building, with all modern facilities, including the biggest drench shower I have ever seen over a jacuzzi bath. Windows lined one wall looking out over fields full of alfalfa – they have to grow lots to feed the horses – which made the room seem light and airy. All the woodwork was painted in “willow blue” and a greeny/blue, and we had another huge bed, covered in a throw of earthy browns and greens. The ceiling was made of different coloured strips of wood – orange, yellow, light and dark green and brown. It was definitely somewhere we could relax after the stressful hours of the past few days – ever since we arrived in Arica.

We had been asked to meet our guide in the lounge at 11.00 – which gave us only half an hour to settle in – but we might have fallen asleep if we didn’t have something specific to do. We made our way to the bar and lounge – another huge, huge area with about twenty massive squashy four-seater sofas and with matching arm chairs, positioned around coffee tables with “luxury” magazines lying around for perusing. We were immediately asked if we would like juices – we both chose raspberry, which arrived with a basket of nuts. Our guide – Pablo – told us that each day we would be asked to choose our activities for the next day. He showed us a map and told of us all the alternatives – about a dozen basic choices in all – plus horse-riding and biking, swimming in any of their four pools or just lounging around the hotel and grounds. We selected our afternoon option – to see the Flamingos at one of the nearby lakes and watch the sunset. This meant we had to meet up with Pablo again at 17.15 and choose tomorrow’s options, as we would not be back until around 21.15 – usually options are chosen at the end of the afternoon’s activity. We found out that breakfast was between 07.00 and 09.00, lunch between 13.00 and 15.00 and dinner from 20.00 to 22.00 – we would be back just in time from our “afternoon” activity to have some dinner.

As it was still only around 11.30 at this time, we decided to wander into the town, where a fiesta was taking place today. We had heard throughout Peru and Bolivia of the Festival of Candelara – the celebration of the Virgin Mary – which was one of the most important dates in the South American calendar. It was the same for Chile. Different communities celebrate from five days to a whole month, with dancing and music and feasting and drinking, parading statues of the Virgin Mary around the towns and villages, making offerings and asking for a blessing for good harvests, good health and happiness, and a prosperous life. Today, such festival was taking place in San Pedro. It only took us about fifteen minutes to walk into town, but we could hear all the bands playing loud brass music long before we reached the centre. We were drawn to the square by the music and lots of other people going that way too, all in glittering costumes of brightly coloured materials covered in ribbons and sequins and baubles; also furry costumes – looking like huge white polar bears, but with oversize glittery head masks. The square was crowded by performers and spectators – many of them, the family of those taking part. It was another Spanish style square, with a large white church – simple design, white painted local rocks for the walls, a wooden roof with a bell tower. From inside came the sounds of more loud music – trumpets, drums and cymbals - and when we wormed our way through the crowds and peered in through the end doors, one band and a troupe of dancers dressed in white gauzy material, were performing in front of the altar. They looked a bit like angels. The church was packed – not an inch to spare – with people watching and clapping in time to the music. All round the outside of the church and in the square, other troupes were waiting their turn in the church, with their supporters.

We left this party atmosphere and wandered round the town. It was amazingly much more sophisticated than the smaller towns we had encountered in Bolivia and Peru. It was perhaps a smaller version of Yangshuo and Cusco – really geared up for tourists – lots of small bars and restaurants, all touting for business, lots of trekking equipment shops, more tourist agencies selling tours of the area and, of course, souvenir shops – we had been told at the hotel that almost all the souvenirs come from Peru and Bolivia! We walked through a few bazaars before eventually finding the post office where we bought post cards and stamps. It was, by now, getting near to lunch time, so we started to make our way back to the hotel. At a cross roads, we came across a couple of priests standing beside a statue of the Virgin Mary in a glass case, men holding flags representing the town and Chile, as one of the troupes and their accompanying band. made their way from the church to be take their turn at being blessed. All the performers danced and swayed their way towards the priests. When they arrived the priest gave them a benediction, said a prayer and asked for responses, before the troupe danced off round the streets making their way back to the square. It was all very loud and just like a carnival.

By now it was after 13.00, so we made our way back to the hotel. Lunch is served on the terrace, in front of the dining room overlooking another large courtyard – with polished wooden tables laid up with white crockery, silver cutlery and sparkling glassware, to suit different sizes of groups. We were shown to a table for two. The menu was already on the plate, and we had no sooner sat down than we were accosted by a waiter with a wine menu. He brought still and sparkling water, and I chose a red cabinet sauvignon – Porta -, while Colin chose a Sauvignon Blanc – all the wines were Chilean of course. For entrée and main courses Colin and I chose the same dishes – goats cheese and caramelized onion tarts followed by lamb shank with quinoa. For dessert I decided on the red berry crumble (which came in an oval serving dish – huge, but very delicious with raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants in abundance) while Colin selected a brandy snap filled with mango sorbet – very refreshing. We finished with tea – and this was only lunch. The food here is definitely 5*AA and gourmet to boot, and service is excellent. It seems all the drinks here are free as well, an added bonus. After our sleepless night and full of good food and drink, we decided that a Spanish siesta would be just perfect, and within a short while I fell asleep. Colin says he stayed awake (he felt he would not be able to get up again for the afternoon activity if he slept now) and pottered about once I had dropped off – not sure, but my camera had been downloaded and the battery was charging by the time I awoke.

At 17.10 we made our way to the bar, where we met Pablo once again, and decided on tomorrow’s activities – the cultural tour in the morning (something gentle in case we are still tired), and a walk in Moon Valley for the afternoon. It was then time to set off – there were six of us in our minibus, an English couple (Peter and Jane – she is very full of herself and very uppy – an older version of yuppy) and a young American couple – who never spoke to anyone the whole evening!

We first drove to the village of Toconao, which was also celebrating Candelara, with almost all the inhabitants congregated around the square – there was no music or dancing at this time, but lots of chatting and meeting together – probably gathering energy to start again. We visited the small church in the square which dates back to 1730. Outside were two small plaques – one showing a llama – representing the Chilean culture – and the other showing a donkey – representing the Spanish (they brought the donkey to South America, and it is respected by all as a pack animal). Inside it was much the same as many of the small town or village churches we have seen. It had a wooden roof, and small chapels in the transcepts and a very simple altar with just a few icons of saints special to the area, and a cross.

It was then time to make our way to the lake, about another hour away. When we arrived we could see the flamingos in the distance in the shallows of the lake – more a flooded area of the ash plain. The whole area was a pale grey/white colour, rocks and the surface, which was like dry crunchy snow, a few days old. It was in fact ash from the volcanic eruptions – the last large one happening in the early 1990’s – that had covered a massive area. A path wound through between the “rocky” clumps of ash, to a viewing point, over a long thin finger of the lake, where most of the flamingos had congregated. We watched through our binoculars and a telescope brought by Pablo, for some time. The birds all feed on minute brine shrimps – only about 1 mm long, and very difficult to see – and consequently the flamingos are looking for food for more than 16 hours a day, in order to get enough sustenance. There were also sandpipers and Andean plovers skipping around the water’s edge. All the time more flamingos were flying in for the night. The sun by now was nearly down to the horizon, so we alternated between watching the birds and the sunset. All around, as the huge yellow ball slipped from our view, the land became pink and then orange. Looking finally at the mountains behind us, the landscape changed from tawny brown to terracotta in the last rays of the sun, to pink, lilac, purple and indigo. Absolutely fabulous. While watching we had been given strawberry juice and nuts to keep away the hunger pangs.

When it was almost completely dark, we made our way back to the minibus and set off on the long journey back to the hotel. By the time we arrived it was about 21.30,, so no time to change for dinner – just have to turn up in our smelly gear from two day’s wear. Dinner was a repeat of lunch in style and cuisine, except it was served inside in the large dining room – well almost hall really – although only half was in use tonight. Colin selected broccoli soup, vegetable fettucine, and fruit salad, while I decided on carpaccio of beef, grilled tuna on roasted vegetables with a green salad – no room for dessert. All very scrumptious. Several glasses of wine later we made our way back to our room, where the bed had been turned down, a small box of chocolates waited on each of the bedside tables, the curtains drawn, the towels changed, and fan set to low. We felt thoroughly spoilt – but we could put up will all of this – for ages.

Our morning activity tomorrow doesn’t start till 09.00 so we have chance to get a good night’s sleep and have a lie in.