Arica, Chile
In the early morning the National Geographic Endeavour pulled into the most northern port in Chile, Arica. This is Region I of the 12 regions in Chile. The area is still under dispute since the Pacific War of 1879-84, when Chile conquered the area from Bolivia. Also called the Nitrate War because of the mines inland that were extremely valuable at the time.
For now it is Chile and our aim for the day was two excursions: a visit into the high Andes and the altoplano to the National Park Lauca, or to travel on the historic railway inland to the first major station at about 30,00 ft in elevation on the edge of the foothills of the Andes.
For many years, this rail was the main connection between Bolivia, a landlocked country, and a seaport. As the train slowly chugged up the grade of more than 3 percent, the group had a spectacular panoramic view over the Lluta Valley and the small green agricultural plots. After visiting the station the train had a much more rapid decent to a wayside called Poconchile where the group then used buses to cross into Azapa Valley for a visit to the interesting archaeological museum with the famous Chinchoro mummy (10,000 years old!) and displays about this culture.
Those going to Lauca also traveled up through the Lluta valley. This is one of the few green valleys and oases in this otherwise extremely dry desert area. The Atacama Desert is known to be one of the driest parts on this planet! However, the valley itself is green and lush in the center because it is fed from the melt waters of the Andes. As we traveled into the valley we saw the first large geoglyphs on the hillsides. Fascinating, these huge figures are still a mystery as to why they were built but certainly several explanations have been put forth. We can only continue to admire and speculate!
Very soon we were climbing up a hill on winding roads and it was not long before we had already reached up to about 9,000 feet. Suddenly the vegetation changed, from none to large candelabra-like cactus. Farther up we started to see more green and the bird life also changed. After the Spanish arrived, Arica became the major port for export of all the silver from mines in Bolivia, especially the Potosi mine, and the route through Lauca was used to transport this precious metal. This silver really made Spain into a rich empire. Still the area down by the coast was too swampy and infested by malaria mosquitoes for the European settlers to live. But further up in the Andes at the altitude of almost 3,500 meters (10,500 feet) they built the town Putre. We stopped for a short over view. From Putre they could control the caravans of silver going to the coast.
Shortly afterwards we were inside the national park of Lauca, one of the wonders of the world. Altoplano is for most visitors a unique, strange and new encounter.It is always a challenge because of the altitude to get there! The wildlife together with the scenery and habitat, altoplano, makes any visit outstanding. The guanacos are at this high altitude are replaced by vicuñas, a smaller and slimmer camelid. The plant and bird life is unique: Andean goose, Andean condor, Andean flamingo, puna rhea, giant coot, puna teal...
In the short time that we were there, we managed to see most of these unique birds. As we were entering the small village of Paranicota, right below the volcano with the same name but much higher (6,500 meters), we spent time exploring the extreme wetlands you find on the altoplano called bofedale. Our trip uphill ended with a short visit to one of the highest lakes in the world, Lake Chungara (altitude 4,600 meters!). The lake is surrounded by more high and snowcapped volcanoes, most of them still active, and many of the peaks are known to be sacred for the Incas. Our guest lecturer and archeologist Johan Reinhardt told us about some of his expeditions up to some of the peaks. The lake itself is really a huge surprise. The bird life is very rich including ducks, coots and flamingos in large numbers.
Too bad the days are too short and everything has to come to an end. Now it was late afternoon and our buses had to turn around, only about 10 minutes away from the boarder to Bolivia. At about 6.30 pm both groups rejoined at the port in Arica and the ship steamed out into the rich Humboldt Current. Our aim was now Peru and during dinner we are able to exchange our experiences from a very busy day.
In the early morning the National Geographic Endeavour pulled into the most northern port in Chile, Arica. This is Region I of the 12 regions in Chile. The area is still under dispute since the Pacific War of 1879-84, when Chile conquered the area from Bolivia. Also called the Nitrate War because of the mines inland that were extremely valuable at the time.
For now it is Chile and our aim for the day was two excursions: a visit into the high Andes and the altoplano to the National Park Lauca, or to travel on the historic railway inland to the first major station at about 30,00 ft in elevation on the edge of the foothills of the Andes.
For many years, this rail was the main connection between Bolivia, a landlocked country, and a seaport. As the train slowly chugged up the grade of more than 3 percent, the group had a spectacular panoramic view over the Lluta Valley and the small green agricultural plots. After visiting the station the train had a much more rapid decent to a wayside called Poconchile where the group then used buses to cross into Azapa Valley for a visit to the interesting archaeological museum with the famous Chinchoro mummy (10,000 years old!) and displays about this culture.
Those going to Lauca also traveled up through the Lluta valley. This is one of the few green valleys and oases in this otherwise extremely dry desert area. The Atacama Desert is known to be one of the driest parts on this planet! However, the valley itself is green and lush in the center because it is fed from the melt waters of the Andes. As we traveled into the valley we saw the first large geoglyphs on the hillsides. Fascinating, these huge figures are still a mystery as to why they were built but certainly several explanations have been put forth. We can only continue to admire and speculate!
Very soon we were climbing up a hill on winding roads and it was not long before we had already reached up to about 9,000 feet. Suddenly the vegetation changed, from none to large candelabra-like cactus. Farther up we started to see more green and the bird life also changed. After the Spanish arrived, Arica became the major port for export of all the silver from mines in Bolivia, especially the Potosi mine, and the route through Lauca was used to transport this precious metal. This silver really made Spain into a rich empire. Still the area down by the coast was too swampy and infested by malaria mosquitoes for the European settlers to live. But further up in the Andes at the altitude of almost 3,500 meters (10,500 feet) they built the town Putre. We stopped for a short over view. From Putre they could control the caravans of silver going to the coast.
Shortly afterwards we were inside the national park of Lauca, one of the wonders of the world. Altoplano is for most visitors a unique, strange and new encounter.It is always a challenge because of the altitude to get there! The wildlife together with the scenery and habitat, altoplano, makes any visit outstanding. The guanacos are at this high altitude are replaced by vicuñas, a smaller and slimmer camelid. The plant and bird life is unique: Andean goose, Andean condor, Andean flamingo, puna rhea, giant coot, puna teal...
In the short time that we were there, we managed to see most of these unique birds. As we were entering the small village of Paranicota, right below the volcano with the same name but much higher (6,500 meters), we spent time exploring the extreme wetlands you find on the altoplano called bofedale. Our trip uphill ended with a short visit to one of the highest lakes in the world, Lake Chungara (altitude 4,600 meters!). The lake is surrounded by more high and snowcapped volcanoes, most of them still active, and many of the peaks are known to be sacred for the Incas. Our guest lecturer and archeologist Johan Reinhardt told us about some of his expeditions up to some of the peaks. The lake itself is really a huge surprise. The bird life is very rich including ducks, coots and flamingos in large numbers.
Too bad the days are too short and everything has to come to an end. Now it was late afternoon and our buses had to turn around, only about 10 minutes away from the boarder to Bolivia. At about 6.30 pm both groups rejoined at the port in Arica and the ship steamed out into the rich Humboldt Current. Our aim was now Peru and during dinner we are able to exchange our experiences from a very busy day.
