Monturaqui Crater.

Days 1145-1146,
08.04.2014 – 09.04.2014,
122 445 km, since the beginning of the journey
The Route: Sam Pedro de Atacama – Paine – Monturaqui Crater - somewhere in deserted area - Calama (386 km).

“One of the most impressive meteorite craters in South America is Monturaqui Crater” stated a google search. And it is located only 150 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama. Just a good reason to visit the crater. It seemed to be a pretty good change to salt lakes.



Wikipedia also had a couple of paragraphs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monturaqui_crater, but no longer story. And from the blogs of other overlanders could not succeed in finding any references either. On the map got from San Pedo de Atacama Tourist Information Office the object was totally there. In the midst of gorgeous Sierra Agua Colorada mountains.

Only no road seemed to take there. The same story was also with other paper maps.

San Pedro de Atacama IV, Miscellaneous.

Days 1142-1144,
05.04.2014 – 07.04.2014,
122 059 km since the beginning of the journey,
The Route: Talbre - San Pedro de Atacama (80 km)

It is quite interesting to see in the morning the overnight places chosen in the dark.

Sometimes in the morning it turns out that much better / smoother / less muddy /more shaded / quieter / or whateversite is located, for example, about in about 100 meters and a bit further of the road.


This time it was just plain land all around and ahead the so-called "million dollar view” at Salar de Atacama.

Laguna Chaxa And One More Story

Days 1140-1142,
03.04.2014-05.04.2014,
121 979 km since the beginning of the journey.
The Route: Laguna Chaxa - Laguna Leija - Talabre - San Pedro de Atacama (233 km).


An overnight place in the middle of the crossroads and an extra spacious view in the morning.

San Pedro de Atacama III, Salt Lakes

Day 1139
02.04.2014
121 826 km since the beginning of the journey.
The Route: San Pedro de Atacama – Laguna Cejar – Laguna Tebinquinche – Toconao - Laguna Chaxa (132 km).

While in San Pedro de Atacamat, it could be interesting besides The Moon Valley, Death Valley and Cordiella de Sali , to visit the salt lakes near the town as well. Laguna Cejar and Laguna Pedra are 15 kilometers away, and 10 kilometers further is Laguna Tebinquince.


Laguna Cejar.

San Pedro de Atacama II

Written in Calama.

San Pedro de Atacama is a nice town, small enough, and everything necessary for life is close at hand. Only a few hundred meters from the overnight place. There are some so-called main streets in the center of the town for which are designed for pedestrians and on the sides of which are predominantly either hostels or tourist services companies, or both together. For a change, there are some restaurants and souvenir shops.


The following is a typical street scene at noon.

San Pedro de Atacama, I

San Pedro de Atacama is a small town of less than 4,000 inhabitants in the region of Antofagasta (in the year of 2012, the number of the inhabitants was 3899). The town is believed to have been founded in 1450 and the main source of making living is mostly tourism.

In the center of the town there is a 17th-century white church - Iglesia de San Pedro de Atacama.


The first night was spent in a familiar place – in Camping Los Perales, which was exactly in the same condition as almost a year ago. Even the price is the same - 5,000 pesos per night, (in euros it would be as 6.67).

Paso de Jama

Day 1128,
22.03.2014
121 549 km since the beginning of the journey.
The Route: Susques – Paso de Jama (ie Argentina Chile border) – San Pedro de Atacama (267 km)


Paso de Jama.

Abra de Acay, ie the highest point on the Ruta 40 will currently be unvisited. As the allowed time of staying in Argentina (90 days) will end soon. And besides in such a sparsely populated area one should always have some spare time for getting around. And on nice weather Polvorilla viaduct and its surroundings are worth to spend there at least half a day. So it does not make sense to drive to the spot in a hurry, take some pictures from the car window before a cloud of dust reaches on the ground, and then drive to the direction of Chile anyway. So better calmly proceed toward Chile.

Legendary Roads

South American legendary roads you can be categorized in several ways, first, for example, those that are known better and you will have to use them as the only inland road to enjoy some beautiful place.


The first example –to visit the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina, a visitor must drive along Ruta 40. The total length of the road is over 5,000 kilometers from the Bolivian border to Terra de Fuego.

Arica, Putre, Parinacota

11.06.2013 until 15.06.2013,
The Journey: Calama – Iquique – Arica – Putre – Perinacota – Chungara – Tambo Quemado (1020 km).


Iquique – on the shore of a shallow pool there is a full size copy of the corvette "Esmeralda"

Chuquicamata Mine

10.06.2013

There is a copper mine near the town of Calama. One can read about it that it is ".... excavated by volume the biggest open pit copper mine"


The mine belongs to the state company of Codelco, which organizes free guided tours to the mine and to the adjacent derelict city of Chiquicamata.

Atacama

05.06.2013 - 09.06.2013
The Journey: Altamira – Agua Verde – Antofagasta – Calama – San Pedro de Atacama – Calama (831 km).


The expance.  Something similar, such as Patagonia, where you can view tens of kilometers.

Chanarcillo

31.05.2013 - 04.06.2013.

The Journey: Vallenar – Chanarcillo – Copiapo – Copiapo Valley (Iglesia Colorada) – Bahia Inglesa – Caldera – Copiapo – Inca de Oro – Diego de Almago – Chanaral – Diego de Almago – Portal del Inca – El Salvador – Diego del Almago – Altamira


Vallenar. Perfectly ok, a little away from the big road, so that the traffic noise did not bother

Further Upwards

May from 29 to 30, 2013
The journey : Valparaiso - Vina del Mar - Zapallar - La Serena - Reserva National Penguina de Humbolt - Vallenar


One more picture of Valparaiso.

Very rainy Valparaiso

From May 27 to 28,
2013 Valparaiso, Chile.


The weather forecast had not lied this time, it had promised rain for Monday, and so it was raining almost all the day long. But because of the rain, after all, one cannot leave without visiting Valparaiso. Another option would be to wait for the arrival of beautiful weather, but one can sometimes wait for fine weather for weeks, and here in the southern hemisphere there is now the autumn-winter time winter. Comparable to the end of November in the northern hemisphere.

Santiago Zoo

Day 826
91,467 km since the beginning of the journey
Santiago. Chile.

Santiago Zoo is absolutely worth a separate post. Somehow I had taken really a lot of pictures.
   

The Chilean National Zoo (Zoológico Nacional de Chile) is situated in the centre of town, on San Cristobal Hill and was opened in 1925. According to Wikipedia there are 158 different species of animals.

Technical, cardan, Part 3

Day 821,
91,274 km since the beginning of the journey
Pichilemu, Chile.

 So back in Pichilemu. And completely unscheduled.   

Los Cipreses National Reserve

The route: Pichilemu - Rancagua - Los Cipreses NR - Rancagua - San Fernando - Pichilemu. (545 km).

While leaving Pichilemu on May 15 in the morning I had no intention of returning here soon . My intention was to visit two places of interest nearby Rancagua. The first place was El Teniente copper mine, as it is still the world's largest underground copper mine, and just nearby the deserted (and now restored) Sewell Mining Town is one of UNESCO World Heritage attractions.

And the second place was Río Los Cipreses National Reserve, about twenty kilometres away.

Technical, cardan, Part 2

Day 815
90,690 km since the beginning of the journey
Pichilemu, Chile.

In the morning I drove to the familiar workshop, but it was closed. Then to the spare parts shop - hoping that they knew the mechanic and could help me to contact him. The connection was made but he was said not to be in town that day. The next quarter of an hour was spent on explaining why it was necessary to find the next good specialist and have the cardan to be welded again. Actually not complicated issue - the hole in the cardan should be closed, but you just try to say it in Spanish..

Finally I got the sales assistants so far that they found a similar detail from the shelf and now it was easier to explain to them that the hole in the centre must be closed.


The day was saved. The story continued in the next workshop, and explaining again from the beginning what should be done.

Pichilemu

Day 814,
90,687 km since the beginning of the journey,
Pichilemu, Chile.

Some more colourful pictures of the small town of Pichilemu - as for a change to oily parts of cardan.


City Park, further on the first Chilean casino, The Ross Casino, it was opened in 1906 and was busy until the year of 1932.

Technical, cardan, Part 1.

Day 814
90,687 km since the beginning of the journey,
Pichilemu, Chile.

For some time there has been no technical post here. Neither ordinary post with pictures and stories, but the last time the technical issues were described was 3 months ago (the problem with the front amort ) in the beginning of February. Such unscheduled technical, which means that something is broken or not functioning as it should.

Anyway, so now it is my fourth day in Pichilemu, a small town of nearly 13 000 inhabitants and the city is located by the Pacific Ocean and considered to be one of the main surfing areas. Only just now it is not the right season. I arrived here on May 7 in the evening and before sunset I found even a decent overnight place.

The first part of the day was spent in town and later I found a campsite with wifi by the ocean. And since the rest of the household was also satisfactory, ie, - hot water and electricity - then I stayed for another night intending to move on in the morning. In the morning, it was planned to fill the tank first and then move on.

And now the technical story begins. I am in town and drive uphill, the main road is just in front. Having given way to the passing cars on the main road I begin to drive and then suddenly - there comes a crash from behind the car and almost just in the middle of an intersection the car stops.

The first thought – something has happened with the clutch, but no, it must be something else. The first gear is on but adding more gas does not make the car move, instead – the car seems to start moving backwards. I put the hand break on, turn on the hazard warning lights and have a look under the car. The sight is not encouraging – the cardan has come loose from the gearbox. Next, it is necessary to get the car away from the intersection, which was not difficult , I just let the car trundle about five meters back.