When we arrived in Tacna, Peru we were unable to get a room because none of the hotels would rent to a couple with pets. Tacna is nice city and we would have loved to have stayed. However, we could not find a hotel room. Also, we could not find camping in the area; so we continued onto the Chilean border. I was not feeling well but fortunately crossing the border into Chile went well. Even the paperwork for the pets went fast, despite the fact that we had no agricultural papers from Peru. Fortunately, we had documentation from all other countries.
 |
Driving through the Atacama near Arica © Spaswinefood
|
 |
| Driving through the Atacama near Arica © Spaswinefood |
After entering Chile, within a few kilometers we were in the
Atacama Desert. The Atacama Desert runs for 600 miles (1000km) along the Pacific Coast of Chile to south of Antofagasta, or about 30º south latitude. This article will highlight our travels along Ruta 5 through the Atacama Desert.
South to the Central Valley via Ruta 5: The Coastal Route
Our Northern Chile travels took us along the Pan-American Highway, or Ruta 5. Ruta 5 is a spectacular coastal desert journey through the Atacama Desert. Our first stop was at a campground just north of Arica. It was great to be in a country where campgrounds were readily available with services. The weather was perfect for camping. When you travel with pets camping is often the best option.
 |
| Folklorico Performance in an Arica street © Spaswinefood |
Arica was a delightful change after a long drive along the Peruvian coastal route. Arica is a beautiful town in the northern Chile desert. We spent two days in Arica, stocking up on supplies and trying to find a place to issue the required car insurance, Seguros Obligatorios. However, the first day we found that all insurance offices are closed for a special holiday, Dia del Seguros (Insurance Day). Once the offices were open we had difficulty finding a company that issued vehicle insurance for a foreign registered vehicle. But eventually we did and all was well.
From the moment we crossed into Northern Chile at Arica, it was obvious that we were in a wine-rich country. Wine is a part of everyday Chilean life. After a restful stopover in Arica we began driving south towards Cuya.
After driving through some spectacular desert scenery we camped the first night at a nice beach at Pta. Camarones
. The young couple camping at Pta. Camarones welcomed us with some Chilean wine. Once we accepted their invitation they immediately began pouring some wine on the ground to toast their Chilean ancestors. We often continued this practice throughout the rest of our South American travels. In fact, there were a few occasions when we bought a not so great bottle mother earth got the whole bottle.
 |
| Beach at Caleta Camarones © Spaswinefood |
 |
Beach at Caleta Camarones © Spaswinefood
 |
| Camping at Caleta Camarones Beach © Spaswinefood |
|
Our second night in the Atacama we camped at
Balnaerio Chacance (Parque el Loa) on
Rio Loa, a desert river valley. This area is 22 km SE of
María Elena.
 |
| Balnaerio Chacance © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Camping at Balnaerio Chacance © Spaswinefood |
Enroute to Rio Loa from Cuya there were several areas with ancient rock drawings or geoglyphs. We drove through the
Reserva Nacional Pampa al Tamarugal, which stretches from Quebrada de Tana to María Elena .
 |
| Lunch stop at Tamarugal Reserve © Spaswinefood |
Around
Pozo Almonte in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region we took time to check out the geoglyphs.
 |
| North of Pozo Almonte © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Geoglyphs © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Geoglyphs © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Geoglyphs © Spaswinefood |
 |
| Geoglyphs © Spaswinefood |
South of the Tropic of Capricorn we spent the night at
Antofagasto, a rather large city on the northern Chile coast. In Antofagasto we stayed at Hotel del Sur. Antofagasta is a city that we should have taken more time to explore. It has a very modern skyline and a welcoming beach front boulevard. We had some wonderful empanadas in Antofagasta. I think they were the best I have ever eaten.
 |
| A beach at Antofagasta © Spaswinefood |
Our trip along Ruta 5 took us through some fantastic desert in spring bloom, after all it was late November in the Southern Hemisphere. After leaving Antofagasto we spent a couple of days relaxing at Caleta Hueso Cabañas resort, just north of a small town called Taltal.
 |
| Wildflowers north of Taltal © Spaswinefood |
As we traveled south, the desert slowly gave way to desert scrub, then to chaparral, as we approached Santiago. The landscape reminded us of California.
 |
| Desert Scrub between Taltal and Serrano © Spaswinefood |
 |
Chaparral forest north of Santiago © Spaswinefood
|
During our drive from Arica to Los Vilos we did most of own cooking. As we drove south we encountered roadside shops selling sweets (dulces), aceitunas (olives), fruit and vegetables. While Chile is know for its wine it is a long drive through the desert to get to Central Chile's wine regions. It was an awesome trip through the Atacama Desert. However, after miles of Peruvian desert coastal highway, followed by the drive through the Atacama it was refreshing to reach Central Chile. Still we need to return to Chile sometime to explore more of the Atacama, as there is so much to explore.
 |
| Enroute to Santiago © Spaswinefood |
Our travels through Chile (Arica to Puerto Monte and then later through the Chilean Patagonia, via Argentina) took us through all fifteen regions (administrative divisions) of Chile.
 |
| Map of Chile © Spaswinefood |
I invite you to join me in my travels in search of the best in Spaswinefood.
Sharon
February 2012
© Spaswinefood
No comments:
Post a Comment