CHILE
“Long live Chile!
Long live the people!
Long live the workers!
These are my last words
and I have the certainty that my sacrifice
will not be useless.”
cit. Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens
-September 11, 1973-
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Discovery trip to Chile from Patagonia to the Atacama Desert and Santiago
SEIZE THE MOMENT
The total price for Alitalia’s round trip flight from Rome to Santiago de Chile was an absurd 380 euros.
That made me realise it was time to head to Chile.
I didn’t hesitate and made an instant booking.
I spent 25 days in South America, juggling my usual crazy rhythms to make it work, and it was a challenging but rewarding trip.
I don’t have a wide range of musical tastes, and I’m not particularly well-versed in any one genre.
I can count the number of concerts I’ve attended on two hands. One of these was the Chilean Inti Illimani in Cagliari.
I met them thanks to the demonstrations where I shouted their “el Pueblo unido jamás será vencido”, more followed them when I found out about their bond with Sardinia.
They organised their first concerts here after the 1974 Chilean military coup, which forced them to a long exile for 15 years.
My trip to Chile was accompanied by their music.
4 x 4
When I’m travelling long-haul, my goal is not just to see one nation, but to visit multiple countries.
I broke my own record after three years of solo travels, when I visited six countries in Oceania in 2019.
I added 4 new flags to my passport: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.
The 4×4 Toyota off-road vehicles were great for run on desert, sand, snow, ice and salt.
HOW TO GET
Santiago de Chile airport is the main hub for arriving by plane.
There are plenty of connections from Europe and from all over the American continent.
If you’re coming from neighbouring countries like Argentina (Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego), Bolivia (La Paz and Salar de Uyuni) or Peru (Lima), you can take advantage of a few-day excursions to Chile.
HOW TO MOVE
If you exclude the Chilean Antarctic Territory, Easter Island and other islands in the Pacific Ocean, Chile is a strip of land about 4,300 km long and only 180 km wide on average.
I used the plane for the longer distances (from Santiago de Chile to Calama and Punta Arenas), the bus to reach Ushuaia in Argentina, and smaller vehicles for excursions around San Pedro de Atacama and as far as Bolivia.
WHERE TO GO
SANTIAGO DE CHILE
The first thing that caught my attention in Santiago de Chile were the stray dogs.
There were lots of them, big and everywhere, often in groups. They were also quiet and never aggressive.
I also remember the landscape,, the historic Andes that seem to be watching over everything.
History is all tied up with the Palacio de la Moneda, which was bombed on 11 September 1973 during the coup of General Augusto Pinochet. This led to the suicide of Marxist president Salvador Allende.
His tomb is at the General Cemetery of Santiago de Chile.
On this topic, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights is very impressive.
Photos and historical documents are the best way to learn about the coup that was supported by the United States and the damage that the military dictatorship has caused.
SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA
It’s about a two-hour flight from Santiago to Calama, and then it’s about 90 minutes by bus to San Pedro de Atacama.
This small town of around 4,000 inhabitants is a great base for a few day trips in the area and then you can head to Argentina (the border is 170 km away) or Bolivia (60 km away).
The dusty roads make it clear that we’re in the desert.
If you’re from the glaciers of Patagonia like me, it’s a big change.
It rains here about once every six or seven years.
I’d suggest spending a day exploring the town and then looking at a few different agencies to see what excursions fit your budget and timeframe.
The excursions on offer often seem quite similar, so it’s also worth thinking about how you feel about the seller before making your choice.
In the evening, the town is full of travellers who have taken part in the different excursions during the day.
It’s always good to hear their feedback.
The Atacama Desert is around 1,600 km long and is one of the driest deserts in the world.
The cold oceanic Humboldt Current coming in from the west and the Andes Mountains, which lie to the east of the desert, create a climate where it hardly ever rains (just 0.6 to 2 mm per year) and the temperature can vary a lot (from 5°C at night to 40°C during the day).
The soil here is so similar to that on Mars that tests are carried out here on instruments and vehicles that will later be sent to the red planet.
The Valle de la Luna excursion should start a few hours before sunset.
This is the time of day when the view is so impressive, you’re left speechless.
The sun caresses huge sand dunes, reflecting on the white of the salt and the pink of the chalk, while the sky turns increasingly red.
Hundreds of people come here from San Pedro every day, so it’s best to find a good spot for photos quickly.
Another popular excursion is one that usually leaves around 4am (depending on where you’re staying and how many people are on your tour) to reach the Geyser del Tatio in time to see the sunrise.
You’re at an altitude of 4,300 metres here, with temperature dropping as low as -20°C.
Geysers are these huge jets of boiling water that condense into huge steam fumaroles that are more than 10 metres high.
There are about 80 of them here, and they’re surrounded by stones that stop people from getting too close.
This is great for safety, but it’s a bit of downside for those who want to go further.
That’s why I was more excited about the geysers in Bolivia.
Usually all excursions to the Geysers del Tatio include stops at the Putana River (where you can see vicugnae, llamas and Andean flamingos) and in the shepherd town of Machuca.
The altitude, very low humidity, clear skies for at least 90% of the year and the absence of light pollution make the San Pedro de Atacama area the best place in the world for astronomical observation.
PATAGONIA
Just say the name Patagonia and you instantly imagine yourself in a remote and wonderful land.
This trip is a real journey to the end of the world and always leaves strong emotions.
Its territory, the southernmost tip of the American continent, including both the Chilean and Argentinian areas.
The Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães (better know as Ferdinand Magellan) was the first European to reach Patagonia.
On 28 November 1520, he crossed the strait that later took his name, arriving for the first time in what he named the Pacific Ocean.
Talking about the Chilean area, Punta Arenas is the best place to start your trip to Patagonia.
It was founded in 1848 and was a really important stopover between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans until the Panama Canal opened in 1914.
The city is a great base for exploring the Chilean area.
The Torres del Paine National Park, about 100 km from the town of Puerto Natales, is one of the most important and visited national parks in Chile.
Its granite mountains and glaciers are home to pumas, condors, flamingos, foxes and guanacos.
Porvenir
For more on the Argentinean Patagonia, follow this link.
