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Iquique, Chile
Oct. 21st
We had to drive back up the sand mountain
that overshadows Iquique on the drive to Humberstone. 40 km
east sits a complete ghost town from the nitrate boom.
Humberstone was lucky enough to survive until the 50’s. It is
a complete town with a hospital and school, stores and houses
-- but no people. We walked through the many vacant buildings.
Most interesting was the hotel complete with a swimming pool
made from a steel ship’s hull. The theater has all the seats
and curtains intact. Lurking behind the town sits the rusting
nitrate processing plant. This was a company town which died
when the industry died in 1960.
 We’ve
been watching the action on the beach. Iquique seems to live
on it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many physical fitness
buffs before. People run and jog, stretch and do sit ups from
morning until dark. The water wasn’t too cold, so I agreed to
body surf with AD. Every five minutes there appeared a series
of large swells to ride in to shore. I would often catch one
late and get tumbled under water. We renewed our dislike of
salt water. YUCK. I will never be anything but a freshwater
guy. The ocean does offer much better waves. AD really likes
swimming. I’ve been teaching him correct swimming techniques.
He seems to have the breast stroke correct. After playing in
the ocean, he swam and practiced in the pool.
 Our
hotel has a life size chess board in the parking lot, which we
played after swimming. This hotel has a lot going for it,
especially separate bedrooms -- one for us, one for AD. We
have been sharing a single room for weeks. That makes it hard
to get AD to sleep earlier with the TV and beds all in the one
room. A little thing like a refrigerator has even become a
cherished item. It’s allowed us cold drinks and lunch foods.
The wine in Chile has been very good at $2-3 bottle. DW’s very
pleased with her current Chardonnay. Late dinner is a problem,
as most restaurants don’t open until after 8PM. Stores are
open 10-1 and 4-7. Fortunately our local megastore is open
9-midnight.
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AD Journal |
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Today we went to a ghost town called
Humberstone. It had several houses, a town square, even
a theater. At the hotel there was a pool made of a steel
ship hull. It became a ghost town when they closed the
nitrate plant. When I was there, I walked through many
of the abandoned houses. Every thing was covered in
graffiti.
The schools in Chile have two
different session times, one from 8:00-1:00 PM and the other from
1:00-7:00 PM. I think that it is very weird to get out of
school at 7:00 PM. They have a French, German, and
English school. That means that nationality that runs the
school. You don’t have to be that nationality to go to
it.
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Laundry problem, surfing...» |
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We’ve
been watching the action on the beach. Iquique seems to live
on it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many physical fitness
buffs before. People run and jog, stretch and do sit ups from
morning until dark. The water wasn’t too cold, so I agreed to
body surf with AD. Every five minutes there appeared a series
of large swells to ride in to shore. I would often catch one
late and get tumbled under water. We renewed our dislike of
salt water. YUCK. I will never be anything but a freshwater
guy. The ocean does offer much better waves. AD really likes
swimming. I’ve been teaching him correct swimming techniques.
He seems to have the breast stroke correct. After playing in
the ocean, he swam and practiced in the pool.
Our
hotel has a life size chess board in the parking lot, which we
played after swimming. This hotel has a lot going for it,
especially separate bedrooms -- one for us, one for AD. We
have been sharing a single room for weeks. That makes it hard
to get AD to sleep earlier with the TV and beds all in the one
room. A little thing like a refrigerator has even become a
cherished item. It’s allowed us cold drinks and lunch foods.
The wine in Chile has been very good at $2-3 bottle. DW’s very
pleased with her current Chardonnay. Late dinner is a problem,
as most restaurants don’t open until after 8PM. Stores are
open 10-1 and 4-7. Fortunately our local megastore is open
9-midnight. 
