Getting here From Iquique, I flew to Santiago and then, after a one night stay, I flew further south to Temuco. Don’t worry: I’ll be returning to Santiago at the end of the trip. My logic is that, if I get delayed by bad weather in Tierra del Fuego, which is not unlikely, it’s better…

The journey here The journey to San Pedro de Atacama from Calama is a relatively short one: about 1h45m according to the timetable. Unfortunately, whilst the bus arrived in Calama only a couple minutes late, we had to refill at the Tur-Bus maintenance depot in Calama which added a further delay, and then someone who…

Calama is not particularly known for anything. My only reason for stopping here was as for acclimatisation at a moderate altitude (7000ft) before climbing higher to San Pedro de Atacama (9000ft, with nearby sites at up to 13,500ft). Journey there I came to Calama by bus from Iquique. Tur-Bus has a relatively regular service, and…

I’m starting my journey in Iquique, a city about 100 miles south of the Peruvian border, in the North of Chile. My guidebook tells me that Iquique once had the highest consumption of Champagne per capita anywhere in the world, such was the boom the city went through in the late 19th century, after nitrates…

As predicted by my itinerary, today has been a pretty boring day, with far too long spent in airport departure lounges. The trip to Iquique involves three flights: London-Madrid, Madrid-Santiago, Santiago-Iquique. Unfortunately flight availability conspired against me, even though I booked the flights in March, and so each of the connections was incredibly long. All…