Day 61 - 04 Feb.2012 - San Pedro de Atacama

Today we were going to reach our next big destination of our trip, San Pedro de Atacama. Originally it was planned to first go to see the Chuquicamata mine in Calama but as it is Saturday, no guided tours are available over the weekend. We will try to arrange a tour again for Monday.
Driving through the dessert towards Calama, it becomes apparent that one of the most precious commodities in the dessert must be water. They have gone through great lengths to distribute water to the remote places and a water pipe was most of the time a companion next to the road. The train line from Calama often runs parallel to the road was well and cargo trains transport the heavy copper plates down the hill to the port of Antofagasta and material and fuel back up the hill. Three heavy diesel engines are required for the trip up into the Andes to 2,500 metres above sea level.
About half way towards Calama we came across the ruins of the village Pueblo Pampa Union. We stopped to have a closer look and the local graveyard revealed that the last people have died in the village around 1924/25. The inscriptions testify that a lot of South-Eastern European immigrants must have lived here, possibly helping to build the railway line from Calama to Antofagasta. What exactly happened here remains unknown to us. Maybe once the work finished, people just moved away abandoning the village.
We arrived in Calama trying to find the tourist office and potentially booking a tour for the mine for Monday. Unfortunately the tourist office remains closed on Saturdays as well. After filling up our food stock at a local supermarket – it will be cheaper here than in San Pedro de Atacama – we continued our way.
Driving over the mountain ridge of Cordón Barro Arana we drove down to the little village of San Pedro de Atacama and immediately started to search for a camping. After two unsuccessful attempts we found a camping, which still had a place for us. During the search we asked, as well in a hotel for the price for a room. They only had a triple room available and that was for 280 US$ - so we definitely stayed camping!