The day after coming from Pan de Azucar, following the Antofagasta coast about one hour north, we reached Mejillones, a fishing town, with great seafood and nice beaches, a sort of Antofagasta summer resort for locals. We went there after hearing a rumour that there were turtles and
loberias (sea lion colonies) in the shore. After lunch we drove our 4x2 truck up the hills, following a paved road, which ended on top, next to military facilities. From there, the dusty path goes down, smoothly down, until we saw a sign warning about a big slope, but when we noticed how big the slope was, we couldn't go back. Braking the vehicle didn't prevent it to keep slowly sliding downhill! As soon as we got down we knew that we wouldn't be able to go up again, without a 4x4 vehicle and a lot of experience, which we didn't have...
We kept going until we reached the end. A gorgeous breathtaking view, really amazing, the deep blue endless sea in front of us and the dusty white sand rocks behind. A blue/white contrast full of simplicity, the same I mentioned before in Pan de Azucar, and we were right there, in the junction of two opposite worlds. We then took another path to go see the sea lions, cursing our bad luck and thinking how the hell would we go back. No signs of human life along the way, until we met some fishermen close to the
loberias and asked if there was another way. Saved!! There was, but it took us one hour instead of five minutes to get to the paved road again. The trip was still tough, but the slopes were softer and with less sand. It was a damn adventure between huge cliffs and deep gorges, the path was not clear, we had to go back a couple of times, and it was getting dark. We could only rest when we reached the paved road, but it still took us a couple of hours to lower the adrenaline levels back to normal. On our way back, we saw the sunset at La Portada, a natural rock monument near Antofagasta. Lesson learned: always rent a 4x4 and check the slopes before you enter them... Geez!
The day after coming from Pan de Azucar, following the Antofagasta coast about one hour north, we reached Mejillones, a fishing town, with great seafood and nice beaches, a sort of Antofagasta summer resort for locals. We went there after hearing a rumour that there were turtles and loberias (sea lion colonies) in the shore. After lunch we drove our 4x2 truck up the hills, following a paved road, which ended on top, next to military facilities. From there, the dusty path goes down, smoothly down, until we saw a sign warning about a big slope, but when we noticed how big the slope was, we couldn't go back. Braking the vehicle didn't prevent it to keep slowly sliding downhill! As soon as we got down we knew that we wouldn't be able to go up again, without a 4x4 vehicle and a lot of experience, which we didn't have...
We kept going until we reached the end. A gorgeous breathtaking view, really amazing, the deep blue endless sea in front of us and the dusty white sand rocks behind. A blue/white contrast full of simplicity, the same I mentioned before in Pan de Azucar, and we were right there, in the junction of two opposite worlds. We then took another path to go see the sea lions, cursing our bad luck and thinking how the hell would we go back. No signs of human life along the way, until we met some fishermen close to the loberias and asked if there was another way. Saved!! There was, but it took us one hour instead of five minutes to get to the paved road again. The trip was still tough, but the slopes were softer and with less sand. It was a damn adventure between huge cliffs and deep gorges, the path was not clear, we had to go back a couple of times, and it was getting dark. We could only rest when we reached the paved road, but it still took us a couple of hours to lower the adrenaline levels back to normal. On our way back, we saw the sunset at La Portada, a natural rock monument near Antofagasta. Lesson learned: always rent a 4x4 and check the slopes before you enter them... Geez!
3 comments:
Tens outro belo conjunto de fotografias. Muita fixe teres conseguido ver a colónia de leões marinhos!
Epá colega, que inveja (da boa lol).
Que grande aventura, mas compensou completamente. Que fauna maravilhosa.
A colónia que na verdade não tem nada de atificial, eles é que se juntam ali, porque há tartarugas, esse belo repasto (já que vejo a tua foto, aconselho-te cuidado...).
Cara colega, muito me apraz esse comentário bem vet. De facto, tu aqui terias muito por onde pegar, devias considerar vir cá fazer um qualquer estudo científico... Qualquer...
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