Along fishermens' creeks, rocky beaches, bays and the Cordillera de la Costa - from Antofagasta to Caldera

Antofagasta - ? - Paposo - Taltal - Caleta Cifuncho - Caleta Pan de Azucar - Chañaral - ? - Caldera

13.10. - 20.10.2011

(70 - 121 - 51 - 49 - 100 - 29 - 45 - 55 km)

A person with normal geographical knowledge thinks there is just one mountain range in Chile going from North to South, in the interior of this extremely narrow country - the Andes. And so we supposed that cycling the coast would be child' s play, flat and at sea level. But we had forgotten the Cordillera de la Costa.

This mountain range makes up the shore of Chile, and begins at maximum 500m from the coast, often protruding with its rocks right into the Pacifique. Even though its height is not comparable to the Andean peaks, it forces all roads at the coast to go constantly up and down, and in some places there is simply no way to put a road - ergo you need to climb the Cordillera de la Costa inland to return 30km later to the next coastal village ( this was the case leaving Antofagasta, or getting to Cifuncho).

After having profited from all the advantages of a big city (like outfitting my bike with a mirror, a new tachometer and kick-stand and a reserve tire), we left Antofagasta and crossed the Cordillera de la Costa, to arrive again in the desert.

 In Antofagasta, the two Basque cyclists Nacho and Idoia (who come from Alaska) rejoined us and the four of us cycled together till Chanaral.

 It' s incredible that going inland only 10km from the coast you' ll find a completely different climate: started in the cloudy Antofagasta every kilometer in the Cordillera we saw more sunshine, and you can see that these mountains really are a barrier to the clouds. An the Atacama is really full of minery, and industry (this day we passed some ugly sfactories). And it' s these mines, especially copper, which make Chile a rich country. ome fisherman told us proudly that Chile had no exterior debts, but apparently the government doesn' t want to financiate free education, so the student demonstrations go on.

camping with our twin tents in the Atacama, first day after Antofagasta

where a driver had a deadly accident, they put a small monument with a cross, candles, sweets and other gifts - and the flags demonstrate the strong tailwind we had

The 2 days between Antofagasta and Paposo we had an incredibly strong tailwind, which made the long 100km-ascent much easier. You feel the wind pushing you from behind, so that this day I wasn' t fearing any steep uphill. And for having a rest we had to find shelter, in order not to be exposed to a sand-and-stone cloud traveling at high speed.

Down to we rushed through a "quebrada", which means a narrow canyon made by a river. Whereas we came from the desert, the canyon got greener, full of cacti and white-and yellow flowered plants; until after the last curve we reached the Pacifique at the small fishermen village of Paposo. This evening the four of us found the perfect camping spot, among rocks, sand, cacti and flowers, falling asleep with the sound of the waves. And for the first time, the night was comfortably warm and the air humid, maritime climate.

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down the quebrada towards Paposo; the morning mist in the Cordillera allows vegetation 

after the quebrada, the coast - a grat feeling to repire humid air, and the smell of the sea (the little village is Paposo, and the road to the left will lead us to Taltal) 

the perfect camping spot near Paposo

cacti in the evening light

Cycling from Paposo to Taltal was really nice, with a completely different landscape than all days before: along the shore with its guano-covered rocks, its enormous Pelicans and other sea birds, isolated groups of fishermens' houses, the cactus- and flower-rich vegetation, and without any traffic.

A "caleta" is a small fishermens' village, which can be more (as Cifuncho, where you can also buy drinks and water) or less inhabited. The cold Humboldt current provides the chilean coast with plenty of sea life; in Cifuncho the fishermen told us they fish 9 differnt species of fish, plus plenty of seafood (every time I was bathing in the water next to rocks, I saw the lobsters' red legs under many stones) and algae. Surprisingly it' s the algae, collected from the coast with long wood sticks and then dried on the beach,  which give the highest profit at the moment, because of Japon' s high demand for using the algae for paints, tapestry, food and much more.

And while Argentina has its steak, Chile has "marisco"( seafood); and I really like the "Chilean steak" ( a woman in Taltal told us so), in the marveillous "Sopa Marinera" of a 2000-Peso(~3 Euro)-menu.

leaving the small town of Taltal; the clouds always disappear around midday

a pelican in the bay of Cifuncho

Julio, his wife and another fishermen, who welcomed us so friendly in Cifuncho

Julio cooking sea food with rice for the four of us in his house for dinner - he had been radio speaker, fisherman, cook and much more in his life

Juan, Nacho, Idoia and me leaving Caleta Cifuncho

After Caleta Cifuncho we had to climb again into the desert, ride on the Panamericana and descent towards the National Parc of Pan de Azucar (which means "sugar bread"). This parc is not really special, except for the island Chorros where are living plenty of Humboldt penguins, seals and many other animals.

Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar, with the island of Chorros in the background 

round cacti growing in groups, typical of Pan de Azucar

an incredibly big, white beach only for us - but swimming is impossible, because the strong currents of the Pacifique already pull you inside even if standing in the water

Juan in the dunes, with thousands of lizards and flowers, and the noise of the Panamericana (after Chañaral)

After Chañaral we re-entered the Panamericana, and had to share the coast with thousands of trucks each day. Even at night the traffic never stops.

Caldera is bigger than the towns before, and in summer (which means the months of European winter) full of Chilean tourists. But now it' s calm, and we enjoy some day without cycling. Afterwards we are going to continue in the direction of La Serena, passing the "desierto florido" between Copiapo and Vallenar.