Santiago and the North

27 Dec Up early this morning as we were being collected at 9am to go on our tour of North Chile. We had laundry left with reception and were due to get it back by 8am. When asked for it at 8, they said they had forgotten to do it but would be ready by 9am, it wasnt. Put into plastic bags soaking wet we got on our tour bus. Frog got out his washing line and we set up a big drying operation around the bus much to the entertainment of the other passengers at the sight of Jocks and knickers blowing around in the wind.
We stopped for lunch at a small seaside town called ´Pichidangui´, the driver had organised a restaurant for us which was overpriced and had a crap menu. Me, Frog and Caroline decided not to eat and look elsewhere, followed by everyone else. The look on the driver and Guides face was priceless. I guess they didnt get their free dinners. We arrived in ´La Serena´ later that day for our first overnight stop.

28 Dec Stopped off at a place called ´Punta de Choros´ where we went for a boat ride around these islands where we saw dolphins, sea otters and lions and a few other species of birds. To be quite honest I was bored as we had seen it all before and got my knees sunburnt for good measure. Later in the day we went to ´Bahia Inglesa´ , a beach resort where our accommodation was an ´A´ frame bungalow, shared between 5 of us.

29 Dec Today was a free day to relax on the beach. In the afternoon we were brought into town for a couple of hours, and when asked what there was to do, the guide said ´Nothing´. Hmmm. That night the whole group had a BBQ and Fiachra did his trademark nude shot in the drivers seat of the bus much to the delight of the group.

30 Dec Had a long day in the bus today, we stopped for a few photos along the way including the ´Hand in the sand´ a huge sand 10 metre hand carved out of rock. This sculpture was commissioned to signify a greeting and a farewell to all crossers of the Atacama dessert. Futher along we stopped at a cemetry for workers that died in the local nickel mines. It is no longer in use but the shallow graves and the dessert wind often uncover the bodies below. There was this one body that was partially decomposed and still had its ear. We had to peer in though the makeshift coffin to see it but Frog decided to lift the lid off it to get a proper look and propped it open with a big stick. He´s going straight to hell but we got a few good photos. Another stop had this armchair in the middle of the dessert which is popular for funny dessert shots (lacking in any culture or history methinks) but enjoyed it nonetheless. Frog did his usual nude and enjoyed the notoriety and paparazzi that went with it. ´We stopped at ´Angofasta´ that night.

31 Dec Today we went to a train cemetry in a place called ´Baquedano´. The old steam trains there were used to transport the minerals from the mines over 50 years ago and are still in the same condition due to the very low humidity in the dessert. We had a good laugh climbing all over them incl getting into the boiler at the front. Fiachra did a nudie aswell hiding his locomotive and carraiges behind the train chimney. We were travelling along the tropic of Capricorn and was very hot and dry (c.35C). We visited salt flats and went to an oasis village (never been to an Oasis before) where there were very welcome natural pools that we swam in. The day was a bit overshadowed by the fact that one of the lads on our group had his camera stolen by local kids. The guy was very upset as he had months of memories on his memory card. We went to see flamingoes feeding nearby and when we arrived there were 6 military personnel there and 2 army vehicles. Unusual we thought, but afterwards we were told that we had been mingling with a scarfed Princess Caroline of Monaco.
We got to our nightly stop at San Pedro De Atacama and had to cook as all restaurants were full for New Years eve. We headed out on the town and the place was alive with people, music and these stuffed human like figures (effidgies) sitting on chairs. We didnt know what they were but they were all doused in petrol and lit at midnight. Everyone cheered, was interesting but wondered were they always effidgies when that custom started. We ended up at a house party in a house rented by 3 Cork Girls.

01 Jan Got home at 3am but some of the others didnt get back until 8am. Later in the day we had a look around town before heading off on short trip to ´Moon Valley´ to explore some salt Caves and look at the amazing mountians and valleys consisting entirely of salt. Then we climbed up this big sand dune and watched the first sunset of 2009.
That evening we went out for dinner and I asked the waitress for ´el tabla para tres por favor´ she burst out laughing and showed us to our table. I later found out that rather than asking for a table for three please, I had asked for a surfboard for 3. It got a great laugh.

02 Jan Booked our 3 day tour from San pedro to Bolivia across the Bolivian salt flats. Hung around on the internet, did laundry and ate.