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Chile and Easter Island

Local flooding from recent storms prior to our arrival.

With a slight redrawing of Latin borders, the Atacama would not be Chilean at all. Wedged as it is into a 600-mile strip in the extreme north of the state, its salt plains and boulders push firmly against the borders of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. Yet this merely supplies it with a remoteness that adds to its charm. The Atacama Desert is Chile at its most serrated; Chile without a safety net.

Danger mine field. The high desert sand claims everything including signs warning of danger.

The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a 600-mile strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is the driest desert in the world, as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts. According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies 41,000 sq miles and 49,000 sq miles of the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included also..

Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. It is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile. Puerto Natales is the only city in the province. It is located 153 miles northwest of Punta Arenas. It is the final passenger port of call for the Navimag ferry sailing from Puerto Montt into the Señoret Channel as well as the primary transit point for travelers to Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Buffet dinner just waiting for the passengers to arrive

Baltinache is a unique small restaurant in San Pedro. Its daily menu incorporates native ingredients as well as typically Chilean preparations. This intimate restaurant has a lot of charm. It's not the easiest to find, but it's worth the trip.

We enjoyed a great dinner of local indigenous fusions of food by chef Marta, the owner.

Nicole, our guide introducing Marta to our group of travelers. She was taking a few well earned minutes of rest after preparing a great meal.

Another local word we learned for today.

Name of the Funicular... El Peral Elevator The pear tree

Captain of the ship. In 1978 Constantino Kochifas Cárcamo, father of the present Captain, developed this family tourist business , using his creativity and professionalism to turn it into a national and international product.

We stopped by the road to see a rock art. Each of us added a rock and told what they enjoyed most about the Atacama Desert area of Chile. I put the large rock at the top on to the pile. Others added smaller rocks on top of the large rock. .

Beautiful sunset on the fjord.

Pukará de Quitor, declared a National Monument in 1982, is an ancient Inca fortress built in the 12th century, strategically placed on the side of a hill protected by a gorge over the river. Quitor was taken over by Spaniards in 1540. It was built with large and small stones kept together by mud used as mortar.

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