The last week or so has seen an interesting display in front of the regional government offices on the north side of the Plaza, next to the regional tourist information office!
During the rescue of the 33 miners trapped underground near Copiapo, the men were winched to surface in a bullet-shaped cage. To my surprise, I subsequently found out that there was more than one cage made, apparently each with minor differences in case the others had problems. I gather that the actual cage used quickly found its way to China to be a part of Chile's exhibition in the World Trade Fair, however, one of them is on display here in Copiapo.
In the first few days of its presence here, there was a very tightly maintained barrier around it and crowds there of 4-5 people deep trying to get a glimpse of it. Uniformed police zealously guarded the whole thing, and it was a pretty difficult task to get a decent look at it, not to mention a photo. As with these sorts of things, after a good few days, most people had managed to satisfy their curiosity about it, and eventually it got to the stage that there way pretty much no-one around. Not only did this make taking photos a better experience, but the guards either decided to start letting people into the barricaded area, or someone else higher up the food chain decided that it wouldn't hurt to let people in.
Anyway, I'm wandering past one night, having actually remembered to have my camera with me, and lo and behold, there's maybe only half a dozen people there, and no guards. It looks like I'll be able to wander on in, get up close and personal with the cage and not be hassled by any security guards. Indeed, it seems that people are climbing into the cage to have their photos taken by their friends/parents etc.
On first impression, all I can think of is how narrow it is. I don't bother trying to squeeze myself into it because it is unlikely to be very successful, and I also don't have anyone to take a photo to record the moment. I fleetingly consider asking one of the locals to do it, but have visions of them waiting until I am fully ensconced in the cage, then hightailing it down the street with my camera while I struggle to extricate myself. Yeah, it's probably an unworthy thought, but am I prepared to take the chance. Errr, no. I'm not.
Not much else to report just at the moment.
A
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