Sunday, 30 December 2007

pozo alomonte to pisagua




A lorry carrying ammonium nitrate outside our hotel in Pozo


Saturday 29th December

We missed breakfast again, and had to go to a modest café that we had visited previously. It was quite basic, selling hot dog, burgers and “sandwichs” which seems to be the Chilean for “bocadillos.” They served very slowly but we were in no rush. We noticed that lots of people drank fizzy pops, rather than water.

Outside our bedroom window there was a lorry that contained ammonium nitrate. We had also noticed quite a few tankers passing through town with “acido sulfurico” on board.

After filling up again, we headed north to Pisagua. The road down was initially deceptively good, contrary to the guide book. It was a real wilderness. We passed another deserted graveyard, being swallowed up by the sand.



Then there was a desvio! The road down to Pisagua was being reconstructed, so there was a small (not) diversion via Viejo Pisagua. It involved a very narrow track, hovering on the edge of a very steep cliff, with only a small mound of sand to protect us from the abyss. Kevin drove with his eyes wide closed and leant heavily towards the hillside, just in case. We thought the trials were over when we descended into a valley with a beautiful bay, however we had taken a wrong turn and had gone to Viejo Pisagua (old Pisagua). We had to ascend again but not so high to pass over a cliff to new Pisagua.













Don't look down!






The beach at Viejo (old) Pisagua


Pisagua is overlooked by a fine clock tower which no longer works.









Behind the wooden facade is a mish-mash of corrugated iron and other materials.












The old hospital


We had not expected much of the town, but in fact it was quite charming. A former, booming nitrate port, there were many grand but crumbling buildings. We couldn’t find the hotel that was the former jail, but came across an hostel that had rooms and lots of cats.

It was perched on a rock, above the sea. It was all a bit ramshackle, and the landlady spoke a curious melange of Spanish, English and French because she used to live in Quebec.

The landlord had built the hostel himself and their bedroom was built on stilts with panoramic views of the Pacific.

A Chilean couple who were staying here told us that if we walked south of the village, there was a colony of sea lions.


The fishing fleet




Not a dog kennel, but a small shrine thanking a saint for a miracle last year.


We walked along the hillside, and about after an hour heard the sea lions making a racket. We followed the noise and found them. There were loads of them, camouflaged against the dark cliffs. We managed to get quite near one family, who seemed to be somewhat fascinated by us.


At this point, we realised that the battery on our video camera was flat.

The headland was clearly volcanic as there were several collapsed lava tubes.
We walked back to Pisagua.




Back at the hostel we discovered that the hotel in the former jail had shut several years ago. It has not a pleasant history (especially if you are a socialist, but more of that tomorrow.)


We had dinner in the dining room overlooking the Pacific. The landlady had made a big effort, given that we are vegetarian. And then there was a power cut, so we are sitting here, writing this by candlelight.


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