Hola Any and All,
Picture this situation;
You're driving somewhere – anywhere – first thing in the morning. You've had an early start and the sun is just coming up over the horizon. It's going to be a beautiful day, as there is barely a cloud in the sky. Off to the side of the road, perhaps 200m or so, you can see someone who is obviously parked up for the night and appears that they are asleep in their sleeping bag on the ground beside their vehicle.
OK, so you have a mental picture. The next thing thing you do tells you something about the type of person you are. Do you;
- Smile to yourself, thinking something along the lines of "Wow, I wish I could do something like that. Travelling around that free and easy looks great!", OR
- 'Tut tut' scornfully to yourself and/or your passengers, thinking something along the lines of "Tight-arse, surely he/she could afford to stay somewhere properly!", "Bloody hippy!", or similar, OR
- Think "Excellent, I'll just get on the horn of the car/truck/bus/whatever and give it a really long blast as I drive past! That'll be REALLY funny!"
Still, as ever, there's a silver lining to every cloud. It meant that I got to see another desert sunrise, and this one was again beautiful. The highlight for me was the small silver streak of vapour trail from a north-bound jet that was back-lit by the orange sunrise.
Breakfast over and done with, everything packed up, and I'm on the road before 8AM. My camp site turns out to be quite serendipitously chosen, as after only a few kilometers, the road winds down from the plateau and into the valley. As per normal, it's a blast through the curves, pretending I'm a boy racer, and hoping to catch the bus way off in front of me. The reality is that I'm probably not going much faster than every other car on the road, but the dream is good fun!
I am definitely going faster than the bus however, and before long, I get to overtake it. It's a small thrill, but one that doesn't happen too often, so I enjoy it while it lasts. I also get to enjoy the sound of the V-twin motor being cranked open – I don't think I'll get tired of listening to that any time soon!
After my brief bit of excitement, I settle back in to my normal routine. Try and keep the bike at about 100kph, keep on the right hand side of the road, and enjoy the scenery. It therefore comes as a bit of a surprise to get a little whack on the back of the helmet. I look around, somewhat startled, as I'm pretty sure I don't have any passengers with my trying to tell me something. Fortunately, I'm heading in the right direction and the sun is in the right place such that I can easily see my shadow, and I realize what the problem is. The extra length of strap on the tie-downs for my swag has come loose, much like the other one did when I was coming into Calama the other day. It's now flapping around in the breeze behind me and has obviously been what's hit me on the back of the head. I find the first available spot to pull over and fix the problem, and as the bus goes roaring past, I can imagine them thinking about tortoises and hares…
The rest of the road into Chanaral is again beautiful. The morning sun is highlighting the dyke swarm through the granites again, and they are still spectacular…
Refueling at Chanaral again results in enthusiastic filling of the tank, right to the top, by the attendant. I'll have to learn how to say "That'll do, buddy." The words I know that I thought meant exactly that seem to have had no effect on several attendants now. Maybe it's my accent?
South of Chanaral, the outcropping granites near the road are described by the Lonely Planet as "…other worldly…" which is definitely the case, although perhaps not quite as spectacular as they describe. Today, with scattered flowers of the Desierto Florida happening, it's definitely beautiful, as I stop for a stretch at one point.
The wind is another thing. From the southwest, it's again of perhaps moderate strength and rather cold, and I again ponder the reasons for not having rows of wind turbines here to harness that energy. There is a lot of talk and protest at the moment about plans to build a new "thermoelectric plant" somewhere on the coast here. I'd initially assumed that meant "geothermal" energy would be used, but it appears that a coal-fired station is what is planned. It seems crazy to me, given the amount of wind here, which seems to be not too far short of constant, although I realize that I have only had a limited snapshot of a year. On the off-chance I've not mentioned it before, I'm a bit of a wind turbine fan. I reckon they're spectacular!
Past Caldera and I'm on the home stretch. Only 60 or so k's to go, and I'm very much looking forward to getting home and getting off the bike! The road has turned inland and as a consequence the temperature begins to rise as I move further from the coast. I can't say I'm too unhappy about that, but it does necessitate another stop to remove several layers before I cook myself!
I pull in to Copiapo at about 11AM and decide to try my luck and see if Alexis is staying at the company guest house. If he's there, I'm going to go and wash the bike here and now. If I go home first, I have to unpack it and I reckon there's no way known I'm going to get back on it today, which means it'll be a while before it gets cleaned. As luck would have it, he's there, and as the gate rumbles open, I realize that he may have had a late night and still have been sleeping when I called.
Given the rude awakening, he's extraordinarily cheerful and helpful, and in no time at all, I've got the pressure cleaner going and the bike is restored to its pre-trip glory. The cleaner comes in useful for trying to get all of the fine dust off the swag too!
Getting back on the bike for the last few kilometers is a bit of a challenge, but before too long, I rumble into the Batcave, park the bike and head for my apartment. Blessed relief at being 'home' over-rules the need to unpack everything, and a long, hot shower is just the thing, followed by clean clothes! I really enjoy camping, but I also enjoy that feeling of getting home, getting clean and then just relaxing. Bliss.
It's bliss that is short-lived however, as Alexis calls to say that Lizette is having a BBQ lunch at her house. I arrive late, having enjoyed my bliss a bit more than I ought to, as it's somewhat possible that I dozed off for a little bit, given the time seems to have magically disappeared. The BBQ is because Lizette has had her little sister staying with her for the weekend, and now her parents are here to collect "mini-Lizette" (Paola – I hope I haven't got that wrong).
As they're leaving, Mauricio takes Paola for a quick ride on his bike through the streets. I offer to take her for a ride "on the big bike", but despite her enthusiasm, the whole idea is met with a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the "other parties", so it's not to be!
After they've gone, there is some discussion about going to see something going on at the Parque El Pretil here in Copiapo. I gather it to be some kind of park (der!) in one of the side parts of town, somewhat close to where Lizette is looking to buy a house. Alexis has told me a few times that there is some kind of zoo there. As we get closer, the traffic increases and before too long, we're in Copiapo's version of a traffic jam – not going anywhere in a hurry. It feels like the entire population of town is here and driving around, not to mention what feels like thousands upon thousands of pedestrians.
The police battle manfully at intersections to keep the traffic moving, but the narrow streets don't do anyone any favours. We eventually park in the driveway of a small corner shop. It seems the proprietor doesn't mind us doing that, and that he may also know Mauricio, but it also appears he is definitely looking for some cash for allowing us to park there. Mauricio sorts him out as the rest of us wander off towards the park entrance.
The park is much bigger than I imagine and there's a big concert going on. There are a number of acts coming out and performing a few songs, and a few of them are apparently quite famous in Chile, including one opera singing type. The best one is, predictably, later on. He is a type of folk singer and is very good – Alexis is also a fan and we're not allowed to go anywhere until he finishes his set! We then wander the grounds of the park, and the whole place has very much a country circus kind of feel to it, with food stalls, little arcades with things for sale, games and the like – good fun, but I'm feeling rather tired from my big few days and therefore don't enjoy it as much as I normally would.
When I finally settle into bed, I remember letting out a contented sigh and thinking that I've had a pretty big weekend, and that's the last conscious thought I have for the rest of the night.
Adios!
A
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