Atacama / Chiloé / Torres del Paine
ATACAMA
Atacama is in northern Chile, near the Tropic of Capricorn. It was part of Bolivian territory until the War of the Pacific (1879 to 1883), in which Chile annexed that territory and took Bolivia’s access to the Pacific Ocean.
It is one of the regions of the world where it rains less. The climate at night is very cold and during the day you have to be careful of the strong rays of the sun.
From the mining city of Calama, after 100 km of good road, you reach the oasis of San Pedro de Atacama. It is a picturesque town of Aimará tradition, which is absolutely saturated by tourism. The photos of the town do not show the huge number of tourists because they were taken at dawn; but a while later it is almost impossible to circulate quietly due to the great tourist offer exhibited.
About 50 km further south and after passing the town of Taconao, the wonderful “Salar de Atacama” begins, with its incredible horizons and salt lagoons with pink flamingos.
CHILOÉ
Chiloé is a relatively large island in the north of the insular zone of Chile, where the region of the fjords begins, which then extends to the Strait of Magellan, at the southern tip of the continent.
To get to the island from Puerto Montt, you have to cross the Chacao Channel by ferry, since the planned bridge was never built.
The characteristic architecture in Chiloé are its wooden constructions, highlighting numerous churches build towards the end of the 19th century, with designs of Central European influences.
Navigation is a constant presence that is seen in each section on the roads of the island.
The climate is extremely humid and almost 70% of the days of the year, there is rain.
The populations are on the north and east coasts of the island and the other parts are very little inhabited.
TORRES DEL PAINE
We had purchased tickets for a cabin on a three-day jouney on a ferry from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt. Few weeks before our scheduled departure, we started receiving emails informing us of departure changes due to strong winds. After the third postponement of the departure date it was impossible for us reschedule the rest of our trip, and we decided to cancel the ferry ride. Instead, we stayed in Puerto Natales for a few days and then we drove with a Jeep to Torres del Paine National National Park. In the Park, we stayed at a lodge overlooking Lake Pehoe, in a place with a very beautiful landscape offering stunning views of the southern part of the Andes Mountains. The lodge lacked in updates and is poorly mantained and the dinner was disappointing. After leaving the Park, we stayed in the little village of Cerro Castillo, where we found a charming hotel with a very good food experience. From there we return to Puerto Natales to catch an airplane to Puerto Montt.
