Camped at 5700 feet overlooking the mountains and a cloud covered ocean… and I get to see it thanks to Rusty who warbles in the morning like an off key wolf when he wants to go out. What choice do I have? I get up and we walk.
This was a great iOverlander free camp and we were lucky as there was no wind at all, so it was actually warm up here.
I was asked why we have a 110 kilometer an hour sticker on GANNET2 and the answer is because we were in Argentina where they require such stickers on big vehicles. Of course we are foreign registered so technically we are not required to display it as it’s not required in our home country, but my thinking is always what can I do to keep the local cops happy? If they expect to see it then I’ll put it there. Same story for the gruesome red and white reflective stickers that are peeling off our Promaster. They are required in Peru so I will be refreshing them next week before we cross the border. We also have a front license plate (called a “patente” in Chile and Argentina) which was not issued by Florida which is a rear plate only state. I got a copy made on Etsy and stuck it on the front. Again, that’s to satisfy local police as they expect to see license plates on the front.
Our plan was to get going earlier Saturday morning to have more time to find our camp for the night. Rusty found time to do his favorite thing.
I was astonished to see a zorro -a fox- come by to say hello. He trotted off before Rusty noticed him. By the time our chief security officer awoke to the situation the fox was on his way and skipped out of sight as Rusty lumbered after him putting on a big barking show of protecting us. I can’t imagine what foxes live on out here but he looked very healthy.
We drove inland a dozen miles to the PanAmerican where we turned north toward Antofagasta. The plan was to bypass the city which we’ve visited twice previously including during our failed attempt to get a visa for Bolivia.
There is always a reminder this is mining country. Happily this lot were taking a break from slowing down traffic.
Driving the PanAmerican Highway, also known as Highway Five, through Chile makes travel easy. There are lots of rest stops, roadside facilities and things to eat.
Lunch was a hamburger the size of my head. Layne got scrambled eggs and chorizo and the food stand lady gave us a turkey sandwich for free so we could taste it. That was a surprise.
Antofagasta is an industrial port city but it stretches up the hill to the highway where truck services line the road and it’s a dusty greasy mess, repair shops, truck washes and warehouses. We blew past as we had a hot shower on our minds.
Copec charges a dollar for a hot shower, so after we got gas we also put on clean clothes. Having a shower in the van is important to some people but for us we don’t want the complication and the humidity of hot water. The showers at Copec are clean and well organized and are a treat.
We turned back to the coast north of Antofagasta bypassing the city and got on coastal Highway One north.
It was a cold overcast day with thick clouds overhead. That was annoying as the valley we had left behind was bright and sunny.
Below you can just saw an ore loading gantry which they use to fill ships using minimal port facilities. The ore ship anchors and backs up to the pier and gets loaded by the machinery on the pier.
The road was filled with trucks traveling between Antofagasta and Iquique (ee-key-kay) and there was no sense at all that we were off the beaten path. This was a two lane freeway filled with traffic on a Saturday afternoon.
There’s many more people living along the shore here than Friday’s coastal drive which was very isolated. When we parked for the night some locals came by with fish so I guess fishing can be done even though the surf seems a bit much.
Before the War of the Pacific in 1879 this stretch of coast belonged to Bolivia where Iquique and Arica to the north belonged to Peru. The Bolivians got it into their heads that Chile was mining illegally on their turf so they put their heads together with Peru and started a war with Chile.
Chile was a small disorganized country at the time struggling to define its southern border with Argentina and trying to claim Patagonia as its own, a claim Argentina rejected by forcing Chile back to the natural Andean border that separated them.
Chile had also gained control of its southern provinces near Puerto Montt by importing disaffected Europeans, mostly Germans to colonize and develop that area known today as The Lakes Region around Pucón and Frutiliar. The failed European revolutions of 1848 provided lots of people eager to start a new life in a new world.
Unfortunately for Bolivia and Peru Chile thrashed them in the War of the Pacific.
Bolivia lost its access to the sea, Peru lost two cities on the coast, Iquique and Arica, when Chile gained the northern border it controls today. This coast would look probably much the same as it is not really going to be easy to develop no matter who owns it.
We ended up beach camping south of El Loa, the old border between Bolivia and Peru, now a provincial border within Chile.
You’ll notice the by now familiar water tanks near the homes supplying families in this utility- free desert. Notice there are no power lines or trash collection.
Another ore processing plant on the beach:
An actual town.
Tourism is not how they make a living here.
These dirt tracks are all over the place leading to mining operations in the mountains.
Oh and the road turned to dirt at one point. That was a nice surprise and of course we wondered how long that would last. Only a couple of miles it turned out but it felt like Argentina for a minute there, land of the crappy disorganized highways. Oh and no passing by the way, not that truck drivers cared as they shot past the dainty gringo picking his way ever so slowly.
Through the tunnel into some sunshine.
We are getting close to Peru and it shows. This is how they dispose of garbage in Peru and northern Chile.
Our next iOverlander free camp. Not too much garbage and Rusty was exceeding glad to get out of the torture machine as he is not fond of winding roads.
Seaweed collectors and their dogs going home:
My dog found something but I didn’t investigate.
A rather strange exposed spot but there’s no wind and it will do nicely for a night. Not every camp is amazing but this one’s not all bad.
Tomorrow an organized campsite in Iquique. Peru will be 220 miles away.
