Santiago de Chile

Santiago de Chile surprised us more than any other city in Latin America. Nobody could guess this is actually in America. The feeling is so European! Walking around felt so much like a walk in Bucharest from Kiseleff to Romana Square and then to Cismigiu: small villas with forged iron fences, interwar era apartment buildings, palaces and parks everywhere. Wealth is everywhere, from luxury restaurants to abundant shopping areas to niche car brands like Alfa Romeo, Porsche or Rolls Royce. Traffic is no longer a big issue, thanks to the well developed mass transit system. This is definitely the best big city we encountered, surpassing Medellin in our top. Some sort of protest movement was also taking place so now we know how tear gas smells like 🙂862 santiago863 sant864 sant865 sant866 sant867 sant868 sant869 sant870 sant871 sant872 sant873 sant874 sant875 sant876 sant877 sant878 sant

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The Chilean “autobahn”

In Chile we found the best freeway system since USA. The road is properly insulated and has very good asphalt. The signaling looks pretty much like the one found on the German Autobahn. But the maximum speed is lower 🙂 The car pictured is a Romanian built Dacia 1310, still popular in Chile.858 autobahn859 auto860 auto861 auto

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Antofagasta

This is the city that made us realize Chile really is different than other Southern American countries. Even though it isn’t a tourist destination, the city is perfectly well kept: flowers and grass everywhere, all buildings with fresh paint and streets so clean you might think you’re in the French riviera. Plus some art and other eye catching exhibits. And this is not something singular in Antofagasta!850 antofagasta851 anto854 anto855 anto857 anto

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The ore trucks

As a result of the War of the Pacific, Chile annexed it’s current Northern regions from neighbors Bolivia and Peru. Lucky them, since that part of land holds important mineral wealth that is nowadays extracted heavily.

I remember seeing long time ago one of these trucks at the Bucharest International Fair. Then, I was curious about how this machine can be moved from one location to another. Now I’ve got my answer: piece by piece!845 truck846 truck847 truck848 truck849 truck

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Valle de la Luna

This park is a true lunar experience on Earth! It is located just 10kms West of San Pedro de Atacama. Once off the highway, there is a long way around and also a shortcut. But since next to the shortcut there was a sign saying “Warning! Minefield!” (see first pic; maybe a remnant of the war with Bolivia?) we decided to use the long route instead.

Beside the scenic views one can enjoy from the high peaks, there are also some tours that involve crawling through caves and some climbing.833 luna835 luna836 luna838 luna840 luna841 luna842 luna844 luna

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