4th Nov. 2016
Since arriving in Chile, we have stuck to our plan of zigzaging between coast and mountains, just like kids in a toyshop trying to sample everything on offer. Today we head back to the coast with a one night stop in Antofagasta where we have splashed out US$81 on a superior king size room with sea view. A treat as we have not stayed in a posh hotel for a while.
As we sat at the bus station, we saw a bus to Salta and wondered if we should have popped into Argentina for a few days as we have heard good things about Salta. However life is full of decisions and one should never look back and regret. It is a busy little bus station in San Pedro de Atacama as we watch all the comings and goings. We book our tickets for tomorrow’s transfer on to Caldera with Pullman buses instead of Turbus to see if that is better.
The bus trundled back to Calama where we stayed previously and then turned south west towards Antofagasta. The bus station is to the north of the centre and a quick ten minute taxi trip dropped us at our skyscraper hotel where our room was on the 11th floor with the promised sea view, wow.
As we only have this afternoon and evening to explore the city and so tearing ourselves away from the view and passing the infinity swimming pool we head out to the Plaza Mayor where the guide book tells us there is a miniature Big Ben. Hmm, well it is a tall square clock tower but make up your own minds on the description.
As with many other Latin American cities the centre is dominated by Spanish architecture standard city layout with the main buildings surrounding the Plaza Mayor. The cathedral is to the east and more impressive on the outside than the inside but worth a quick look before heading on to the closed railway station to view the static trains outside.
The railway in Antofagasta apparently runs to Salta some 940 km away to the east over the Andes and reaches a height of 4,000m above sea level. There is a tourist train which runs once a week from Salta to La Polvorilla some 130 miles up in the Andes and as it does not use the rack and pinion method it has to zigzag up to avoid steep gradients. Maybe next time we can do that!
Our circular tour takes us to the shore and the fish market where a well attended auction is in full flow. We pass on by to see the boatyard of fishing boats in various states of repair. As we poke our cameras through the railings we are invited in and left to wander freely around the boats. Locals are tinkering with engines, they nod at us and let us pass by. At times it is more like a boat graveyard.
Happy with our haul of photos we head back for a complimentary welcome drink, a glass of bubbly or burbujas in Spanish and spend a very pleasant half hour relaxing on the terrace overlooking the ocean and the boats in the harbour. What a gem of a hotel after our hostal in the desert. Even our room is about three times the size of last night.
To round off our return to a metropolis we had our eye on a restaurant serving parrillada for two. The mountain of beef, pork, chicken and sausages was more than we could manage so we will not need any more red meat for a while.