The crossing into Chile went well. Even the paperwork for the pets went fast, despite the fact that we had no agricultural papers from Peru. Fortunately, we had documentation from all other countries. After entering Chile, within a few kilometers we were in the Atacama Desert. The Atacama Desert runs for 600 miles (1000km) along Chile’s Pacific Coast to about 30º south latitude. This article will highlight our travels along the Pan-American Highway, Ruta 5 through the Atacama Desert to Central Chile.
South to Chile's Central Valley via Ruta 5
Upon entering Northern Chile our first stop was at a campground just north of Arica. It was great to be in a country where campgrounds were readily available with services. Arica was a delightful change after a long drive along the Peruvian coast. Arica is a pleasant port city in northern Chile. We spent most of two days stocking up on supplies and trying to find a place to issue the required car insurance “Seguros Obligatorios”. However, the first day we found that all insurance offices are closed for a special holiday, Dia del Seguros (Insurance Day). Once the offices were open we had difficulty finding a company that issued vehicle insurance for a foreign registered vehicle. But eventually we did and all was well.
After a restful stopover in Arica we began driving south towards Cuya. Our drive south took us through the driest desert in the world (see National Geographic). We camped the first night on a nice beach at Pta. Camarones. The young couple camping at Pta. Camarones offered us some Chilean wine. Once we accepted they immediately began pouring some on the ground to toast their Chilean ancestors. We often continued this practice throughout the rest of our South American travels.
Next day we drove through Reserva Nacional Pampa al Tamarugal, which stretches from Quebrada Tana to María Elena. The reserve was established in 1987 to protect the tamarugo tree, a unique tree adapted to growing in this environment. Within the reserve there were several areas with ancient rock drawings or geoglyphs from 500-1400 AD. That night we camped 22 km SE of María Elena at Balneario Chacanca (Parque El Loa) on the Rio Loa, a desert river valley.
From Rio Loa we continued south and passed the Tropic of Capricorn. We spend the next night at Antofagasto, a large port city. In Antofagasto we stayed at Hotel del Sur. We had the absolute best empanadas at Florencios in Antofagasto.
The Pan-American Highway took us through some fantastic desert in spring bloom. After all it was late November in the Southern Hemisphere. We spent a couple of days relaxing at Caleta Hueso Cabañas, just north of a small town called Taltal. After Taltal our next stop was Tres Playitas, north of Huasco. From there we drove to just north of Los Vilos where we camped at Playa Chiquelas.
Arica to Los Vilos we did most of our own cooking and were able to buy good wine along the route. From the moment we crossed into Northern Chile at Arica, it was obvious that we were in a wine-rich country. Wine is a part of everyday Chilean life. As we drove south we encountered roadside shops selling sweets (dulces), olives (aceitunas), fruits and vegetables.
Leaving the Atacama Desert
South of Taltal, the desert slowly gave way to desert scrub, then to chaparral as we approached Santiago. The landscape was starting to remind us of California. While Chile is known for its wine, it was a long drive through the desert to get to Central Chile's wine regions.
It was an awesome trip through the Atacama Desert. However, after miles of Peruvian desert coastal highway, followed by the drive through the Atacama it was refreshing to reach Central Chile. Still we need to return to Chile to explore more of the Atacama, as there is so much to explore. During our travels from Arica to Puerto Montt in the south; then later through the Chilean Patagonia we got to travel through all fifteen regions (administrative divisions) of Chile.
Check out our South American travels in my travel column at the Examiner, or visit me at Spaswinefood.
© Sharon Parsons
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