Off to visit the rig this afternoon with Alexis, Juan Carlos and Walter. All signs of the rain in Copiapo on Tuesday have pretty much disappeared, apart from the fact that the roads around town have become a little bit more chopped up – they don't seem to have coped with the water very well!
We need to fuel up before we go, so off we go to the local Copec (something like Gull, for West Australian readers). While we're waiting, a small truck pulls up beside us. It clearly contains livestock of some sort, but we're unable to see what it is, although the animals definitely have hoofs/hooves (spellchecker isn't giving me any hints with the proper way to spell it). There is a bit of a noise from up above us and we look up to see a rather funny site. It takes a few moments to realise what we are seeing is the end of a horses nose and upper lip peeking over the top of the truck as the hose is nibbling away at the top of the wooden sideboards. You'll have to trust me and put your imaginations to work – it was very entertaining, flapping about as it tried to get a good purchase on the wood for a chomp.
Copiapo is situated at roughly 400m above sea level and our destination, Buenaventura, is at about 1,600m, however the route crosses a little pass that has us up to around 1,800m above sea level. I'd never really paid a lot of attention to that, given the presence of 4,000-7,000m high mountains just to the east, but as I keep having to remind myself, in the Australian context, 1,800m is a pretty darn high. I also remember living in a house in Victoria when growing up that was around 900m ASL and it snowing there on occasions. This became relevant about half way to Buenaventura when all of a sudden we rounded a corner and in front of us, hills that I've only ever seen a grey, vegetation-free shapes had been transformed by the snow that fell during the rain event on Tuesday. Yeah, I knew it had been cool in Copiapo, and the guys in from the field that day said it was cold, and had even snowed a little bit, I hadn't absorbed HOW MUCH snow that might have meant on the mountains. Despite a few mild days producing a fairly rapid melt, the amount left was still enough to have me reaching for my phone camera (this being the first day I haven't had my proper cameras with me when travelling). I spend the rest of the drive just staring trying to absorb how different everything looks...
It leaves me with a bit of a dilemma – my weekend was going to involve a ride along the coast to see how the flowers were looking after the recent bursts of rain, however fresh snow is difficult to pass up. Let's see what tomorrow brings – perhaps I'll need to decide by the toss of a coin? Whatever happens, I can't lose!
For Friday night, we're heading out for drinks at a local pub/nightspot called House. We've been before on Wednesday nights and it has been dead, but tonight will be the first Friday night visit that I've made, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We're getting meet Rodrigo's girlfriend/fiance (Marta) for the first time (he only started with us a month ago), along with one of her friends (Francesca).
Negotiated arrival time for House is 10PM, however true to form, I'm running late and don't get there until about 10:15. The place couldn't be more different from previous visits. People everywhere and limited places to sit. Fortunately Rodrigo has been there early enough to have dinner and has a table, otherwise it would be standing room only!
All in all, it turns out to be a good night. Francesca has pretty good English (which she is studying at one of the local Universities) and both Rodrigo and Marta speak far better than they will admit! It is very nice to talk to some other people about things other than work! Home by about 3AM!!
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