Last turno, me and Guillaume, a colleague from Paranal, decided that we should stay in the north for a few days and visit part of its coastline, around Antofagasta. The reasons behind it are arguable, but we did it, rented a nice 4x2 pick-up (cheaper than a 4x4) and drove across the desert. Destination for the first two days: Pan de Azucar national park, 5 hours south from Antofagasta. We drove near 3 hours with just pure desert and mountains as a landscape, very Mad Maxean, until we arrived to the coast, near Paposo and Taltal.
There is something magical when sea and desert mix. Maybe it is in the paradox water/desert, but the beauty of the landscape is very special. It's all very simple but very very respectful at the same time, which defies you to take the most out of it. We did the rest of the way along the coast, as much as possible, until we reached Pan de Azucar, with its characteristic mist
camanchaca, gorgeous rocky beaches and geometric topography. There were little people around, standing out the wildness of the park. We arrived late so we headed almost directly to Chañaral to sleep. We had a peculiar episode with the police and it was not easy to find a place to sleep...
The next day we went back to the park, did a 4-hour trek into a gorge and saw a group of
guanacos, similar to the
llamas, but wild. During the trek we saw many different kinds of cacti lied around the dry landscape. The most amazing thing is that some flowers manage to grow in such harsh environment. In fact, the seed can wait for tens of years until it gets a few drops of rain, making it possible to flourish. If it rains all across the desert, a very rare phenomenon occurs, called flourishing desert. Flowers sprout all over, different colours, turning the dusty brown desert into a rainbow burst of colours. This year it's just a few flowers, but still life can exist even under the most difficult and unlikely conditions. That's when you stop, you stare and you think, you do think, about your life...
Last turno, me and Guillaume, a colleague from Paranal, decided that we should stay in the north for a few days and visit part of its coastline, around Antofagasta. The reasons behind it are arguable, but we did it, rented a nice 4x2 pick-up (cheaper than a 4x4) and drove across the desert. Destination for the first two days: Pan de Azucar national park, 5 hours south from Antofagasta. We drove near 3 hours with just pure desert and mountains as a landscape, very Mad Maxean, until we arrived to the coast, near Paposo and Taltal.
There is something magical when sea and desert mix. Maybe it is in the paradox water/desert, but the beauty of the landscape is very special. It's all very simple but very very respectful at the same time, which defies you to take the most out of it. We did the rest of the way along the coast, as much as possible, until we reached Pan de Azucar, with its characteristic mist camanchaca, gorgeous rocky beaches and geometric topography. There were little people around, standing out the wildness of the park. We arrived late so we headed almost directly to Chañaral to sleep. We had a peculiar episode with the police and it was not easy to find a place to sleep...
The next day we went back to the park, did a 4-hour trek into a gorge and saw a group of guanacos, similar to the llamas, but wild. During the trek we saw many different kinds of cacti lied around the dry landscape. The most amazing thing is that some flowers manage to grow in such harsh environment. In fact, the seed can wait for tens of years until it gets a few drops of rain, making it possible to flourish. If it rains all across the desert, a very rare phenomenon occurs, called flourishing desert. Flowers sprout all over, different colours, turning the dusty brown desert into a rainbow burst of colours. This year it's just a few flowers, but still life can exist even under the most difficult and unlikely conditions. That's when you stop, you stare and you think, you do think, about your life...
4 comments:
Que espectáculo! Para mim este foi o melhor conjunto de fotos até agora.
Já deves conhecer o Chile melhor que os Chilenos!
Ehehe, do que alguns chilenos sim, de certeza.
Achas mesmo que estas foram as melhores fotos? Porquê exactamente? (Referendo popular!)
Porque eu curto fotos do deserto.
E a falta que a agua nos faz... ;)
O que nos vale e' o vinho, a cerveja e a cidra! :p
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