Humberstone oficina

Tuesday 25th December

Today is of course Christmas Day. We did not know if anywhere would be open, but we took a ride up onto the pampa to have a look. The first place that we came to was Humberstone, a former nitrate oficina that is now an UNESCO World Heritage site, like the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and Blaenavon in South Wales.

It was founded in the 1830s and finally closed down in 1961. It is quite substantial, and unlike the other ghost towns we visited, a small fee is charge and this helps maintain the site and has paid for some interpretation signs.

Workers' homes

The hotel kitchen

The market

The fire station

The band stand and main offices

The plaza

Empty streets

It’s a strange place as it doesn’t feel that deserted, and you expect people to walk around the corner at any minute. There were well tended flower beds, and seats in the main square. At the same time it is quite eerie as the wind was blowing and the rusted corrugated rooves made a noise.

The theatre and the church were still in tact, and rows of desks still populated some of the school’s classrooms. In the school, it was weird as we heard chidrens’ voices, and that’s what it was – a group of kids messing about outside.

The church, inside & out

Pupils' desks

When we went in to the theatre, we were quickly bustled outside by a worried looking lady and gentleman. We did not know what this was about. It turns out there was an earthquake and we didn’t feel a thing!!

Unlike the other nitrate oficinas, you could walk around the deserted plant, though it was hard to fathom exactly what was done there.

We came across a cat who seemed to be the sole resident of the town now. At its height the plant employed 800 workers, and housed their families.

There were lots of rusted locomotives that were used to transport the nitrates, as well as people and machinery. We noticed some of the equipment had been manufactured in Glasgow.

There was a hotel with a swimming pool outside the back. The pool was made out of the shell of a ship.

We went to Pozo Almonte for lunch. It was a one road town running either side of Ruta 5. Our Christmas lunch was a cheese and tomato sandwich with a bottle of water in a very modest sandwich bar.

On the way back, we stopped to photograph some shrines on the wayside.

One was to Laura Vicuna, who has been beatified. There were many plaques thanking her for her intercession. She was only thirteen when she died and there was a statue of her in a glass case.

Nearby was a similar shrine to San Lorenzo, bedecked with many flags.