Calama, Chile

The phrase for the day is "sin nada" (without nothing). We are finding that the locals do not even try to understand what we are saying. Today TD and I discussed that we almost wasted the money for our Spanish lessons because of this. English speaking natives have told us, more than once, that those who don't speak English won't even try to comprehend Spanish from gringos. It is so frustrating that TD almost yanked out his precious hair when trying to order a plain hot dog for AD's snack. You pronounce the words letter for letter and correctly and still don't get what you order. We couldn't even get huervos con queso the other morning. Oh well we will continue to try.

That said, our day has been delightful. Our trip back to Calama was only 1 hour. We passed a great sign by a tree that read in English and Spanish "Give me water please". It was the only tree for at least 20 miles. Two stray dogs jumped out of the embankment barking as we stopped to take the picture. Therefore it got no agua from us.

We are back in Calama at a beautiful hotel called the El Mirador and spent the early afternoon shopping for AD and at the grocery. He is now the proud owner of a new hat (he lost his first one), new sunglasses (the first ones are broken) and a pair of swimming goggles. TD and I have found a delicious red wine called Gran 120 Santa Rita Vino Tinto. The best part is that it costs only $1.50 per bottle. Our next bottle will be a magnum for $2.50!!!

In the evening we went to the movies and saw Legally Blond 2. We were the only people in the theater so AD was not embarrassed by TD's and my raucous laughter. Upon our return to the hotel we walked the nearby streets and enjoyed Domino's Pizza while watching TV. It is nice to be back in civilization.

Oct 28th - Chuquicamata Copper Mine, by DW

The word for the day is "massive". Today we toured the biggest open pit copper mine in the world. It is located in Chuquicamata, Chile. It was an amazing sight to see. The mine produces 600,000 tons of copper yearly. Only 1% of millions of tons of rubble is processed into copper. They have trucks with tires as tall as our bus that transport the massive quantities of stone from the bottom of the pit. The government is moving all of the citizens of this city to Calama in an effort to increase the size of the mine x 4. This will cover the city with rubble and take the walls of the mine much closer to Calama. We all enjoyed the tour and came away with a small stone of copper and fools gold.

Oct 29th - To Puerto Montt and a downpour, by DW

The word for the day is "downpour". We spent the morning traveling from airport to airport in an effort to reach Puerto Montt. All of us were all pleased with the lush green countryside. After weeks in the dust bowl, the pouring down rain was delightful. Puerto Montt is a lovely city built on a hillside overlooking a large harbor on the Pacific.

The afternoon was spent shopping and selecting another movie - Harrison Ford in Hollywood Homicide. For only $3.50 you can't beat it. They had a wonderful food court with waterside dining so we all got to pick our own restaurants. If you want to call fast food a restaurant! The view was spectacular as the sun set over the mountain. It was another early night for us to arise once again by 6 - 7 am for our next departure.

AD Journal

Today we went to the copper mine in Chuquicamata, it is one of the world‘s largest open-pit mines and produces greater than 600,000 tons of copper per year. They had trucks that had tires that were as tall as a bus. The tires need to be changed every 8 months. At the last stop we got to take a stone of our choice. I have one that has fools gold and copper in it.

Chile

Chile 2

Calama, Chile

Oct. 27th to 29th - "sin nada", by DW

Oct 28th - Chuquicamata Copper Mine, by DW

Oct 29th - To Puerto Montt and a downpour, by DW

Chile