Chile

About midnight all is arranged, we arrive finally at the customs of Chile. There, the reception is pleasant, the visas will be filled by the chief of station. It comes to say to me hello by wishing me a good stay to Chile and by complimenting me on the good Spanish level on Hydrotrotters, particularly of Loïc. We will arrive towards 1h of the morning in an inn at Arica, city coastal of the Pacific where Geoffroy and Loïc already came there is more than three weeks. The landlord is laid down, it will accomodate us out of nightdress. While I lie down without dining, Loïc and Geoffroy will nibble a little and will connect on the Net. The morning while leaving, we meet the customs officer sympathetic nerve of the day before. He is with his children, we wish himself by far a good day. Whereas we sit down in our car, news meets. It is English on holiday, to whom them hydrottrotters had offered a pot at the time of their last passage whereas one had just stolen his camera to him. It leaves for India, no doubt the world being so small, that Geoffroy and Loïc will meet it there low. Chile is richer than the two countries than we have just crossed, the automobile park is recent, less Japanese or Korean cars but much of American record players, French, German, Italian cars. The houses are completed and vain, the streets are clean, the better held parks. Water out of bottle is more expensive, 1 euro the bottle.
We will take the famous Pan-American Highway. Where we are the signpost gives us 2050 km to Santiago, capital of Chile. We will leave this road wedged between the Andes and the Pacific in Séréna. The area is completely desert. To spend less fuel we do not put air-conditioning and roll the open windows. The weather is beautiful and hot. A sand wind and swirls traverse these immense plates. The trucks which we meet are gigantic. We cross of them one which transports a bucket of 100 m3 intended for the building site of a mine. We will see thousands of them (of mines). Chile has the largest copper mine of the world, it is with open sky. There are also cement factories, money mines, of cobalt zinc, nitrates. The largest nitrate mine employs 8500 people with Humberston. Not a place where we do not see tire tracks. All squared, is turned over, the crossed area resembles a coldly plowed field. At the time of a stop, we note that the ground is only salt mixed with a little ground. Further, of the trees were planted on thousands of hectares, they are well aligned but they miss water. In connection with trees, we noted that there was much eucalyptus especially in Peru. They push quickly and when they are cut, they give again two trunks. In addition, for a tree crossed there is obligation to replant two of them. We cross a phantom area now where lived more than 20 000 people. An earthquake very devastated, several years ago. There remain only cemeteries in good condition. We cross a new oasis and still a mine field with an intense activity, the road is skirted by two pipelines and a way of railroad. We pass the tropic of Capricorn before arriving at Antofagasta, port mining of the coast of the Pacific where we place. We will not bathe, so much water is polluted by the waste of the mines rejected without treatment, in the sea. The following day, we again cross desert plains and plates, the sky is blue, without a cloud. Our next stage will be the port of Chañaral where we arrive in middle of afternoon. Hydrotrotters want to visit an experimental site (Falda verde), of water collecting imagined by the Australian ones, in this arid area. The principle consists in tightening nets with small meshs on the close mounts in which the fog the night condenses. We will be obliged to ask the police station where are the nets trappers of clouds. Today goes to the place indicated, not of chance, it is Saturday, all is closed. We cross the chain being used as barrier with the site, Geoffroy will make photographs of the nets which are at one hour of walk. With Loïc we remain in bottom beside the greenhouse where push tomatos which one it air good and juicy. Of where we are we let us have a very beautiful sight on Chañaral, the Pacific and the neighbourhoods. Little world on the beach bus there too all is polluted by a copper factory which is with a few kilometers. Geoffroy of return, we set out again. Maintaining the road skirts the coast, in this estival season there are many people along the littoral. People make wild camp-site and put their tent a little everywhere. We stop to make stone photographs worked by the erosion of the sea. Later at the time when the sun falls into the sea we dine in a camp-site. As we have much road to make we set out again to stop us about midnight at the edge of the way. We orderlies our tent in a flat place, without only one stone because we do not have a mattress. We spend finally a very good night.
Today we rise good morning and leave in direction the reserve von Humboldt to try to see sea elephants and other animals marine. The road that we borrow is not asphalted, there is much dust, we arrive at the small very tourist port of Los Choros. There are many people, alas for us the reserve is at one hour of boat. We will thus not go. Before arriving at Séréna, tourist and balneal city, it is necessary for us still to cross desert plains as far as the eye can see. After the ritual choice of the inn we will bathe. The beach is immense about fifteen 300 m kilometers approximately and broad. There are many bathers. We collect some shells while scraping in sand and let us eat them. Safety here is well organized, a guard dimensions master key with broad regularly, of the rescue stations are installed with regular intervals. Towards 18h we return then will dine in a good restoring on the coast. The following day we leave in direction Argentina, after having made it tower of the city. The road that we borrow now skirts a river, Rio Elqui, we will follow it during 200 km, to the Chilean station of border which is to 150 km of that of Argentina. The valley is very rich in cultures (vine for famous Pisco, the Chilean grappa). Dam feeds out of water of the basins of piscicultures. There are many tourists. The dwellings are neat with flowers in abundance, in particular of the bougainvilleas. Our road crosses that driving at the American observatory Cero Tololo. This area of Chile, has the purest air of planet with little moisture, not cloud and not luminous pollution. The day before we had already crossed the road of the European observatory, it was too late there to go. Hydrotrotters want to make a chart on water in stars. We thus take the way of Cerro Tololo but alas the road is private. The guard does not want to let to us pass, he says to us however that astronomers have an appointment in Séréna and that they will pass here in 45 minutes. We benefit from this time to quickly go to lunch. Three fifteen minutes afterwards, Geoffroy stops the car of the astronomers, they do not have much time and propose to contact them by e-mail to answer the questions. We set out again a little depities. Progressively where we are inserted in the content of the valley, the cultures become increasingly rare, only the grape still pushes. It should be said that it is the object of attentive care. In this moment they are the grape harvest. The valley becomes increasingly boxed, little circulation, the road is not asphalted more. With the turning of a turn, an immense stopping. Water is color of the sky there, of a blue azure with green reflections. The mountains neighbourhood dominate us and culminate towards 5500m, their colors are extremely varied, red copper, yellow, gray, black. We are subjugated per so many diversities. We cross the Chilean customs without encumbers, it is lost in the medium of the mountains. The customs officer says to us that it will take us four good hours to arrive at the Argentinian customs house. We are anxious bus once again we do not have much gasoline. Around 4300 m, against any waiting because the area is really desert, we cross two guards of goats and their herd. They answer our blow of horn by large hello. The road becomes increasingly escarpée. Better is worth not to make a yaw because the slope with the lower part of us is à.pic. Opposite, a mountain (6000m) covered with snow, feeds the river which we followed. On the roadside, a firn was worked by the wind and the rain, it is full with barbs of ice from one to two meters in height, they are curious. We take photographs so much the spectacle of these mountains is fabulous.

Argentina

We arrive finally at the collar: Passo del Aqua Négra (4779 m of altitude). We laugh with the idea that we are almost at the level of the Mount Blanc while driving car. The fog rises other with dimensions of the collar, it starts to snow. Whereas we are stopped, a stuffed minibus of passengers with sharp pace, from which does it come doubles us that one? We had not seen it going up. The descent with dimensions Argentinian is quite as beautiful as the with dimensions Chilean one but the climate is not any more the same one. The weather is fresher and cloudier. The descent is long, the road widens and becomes tarred. At the bottom of the valley a river which is thrown, it, surely in the Atlantic. The night fall whereas we arrive at a police station whose barrier is closed. A police officer awaits us in the medium of the road. 40 km lower the border are close to a village. The customs officers are very pleasant and use the few French words whom they know. Obviously they awaited us too. They had been informed by the Chilean customs officers of our passage. We are admiring good co-operation between these customs. In this village border, we will find gasoline and will dine quickly. Tired, we will sleep under the tent in a camp-site. The morning we take again the road towards San Juan and Cordoba. The area is beautiful, it makes hot and beautiful, little circulation on the road which moreover is in excellent state. We go so far as to roll quickly, the road is right on tens of kilometers. The landscape is varied little, of large plains follow one another. The vegetation which was thin and rabougrie become luxuriant. Many herds of cows are with the fields. Our stop with San Juan is of short duration right time to take money. The weather is so hot that we put air-conditioning, of fear of deadening us at the wheel. Towards 3 p.m. we hope to find an inn to lunch but here it is not Peru nor Chile. In addition to the fact that the area is populated little, it is the hour of the nap. Finally, it will be necessary for us to roll a long time for finally lunching. Before arriving at Cordoba, we cross a mountainous chain. The road is very tourist, one cannot double, moreover the cars roll slowly. We arrive in the evening at Cordoba at one of our Aunt, who lives there since more than 50 years with her family. We are accomodated with arms opened by our cousins whom we often do not see. The following day of our arrival, we visit Cordoba, the afternoon we will see the stopping of Quebrada which is used as drinkable water tank for a part of the city. We also go up until the source of Rio de Salsipuedes feeding the stopping. The area is very beautiful with small mounts similar to those which one finds in Auvergne. Rio is cut by great water falls where kids bathe.
Us here is Sunday. I leave at the end of the afternoon Hydrotrotters which will continue without me them tour. I travel by the plane of Cordoba for Buénos Aire, then for New York. With airport JFK where we land it makes -9°, an arctic cold. There is nobody in the streets, it is public holiday in the United States. In the morning I go up in top of the Empire State building it makes a splendid time, the sight on New York is splendid. At midday I lunch with Eric, a friend of Loïc. The evening I travel by the plane for Paris where I find finally Elvire, my tender wife, with the arrival.

Newspaper February 5 at February 15, 2004 written by Tanguy de La Tullaye

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