Precious water

Since John last wrote about oasis, we have bused through another couple thousands of kilometers of desert and sand in southern Peru and northern Chile. We now think we understand what true desert is, maybe until we travel North Africa and the Middle East.

Whenever a river flows through the desert, then you can have a green valley. East of La Serena, the Elqui Valley is such a valley, much treasured and touted for northern Chile. Having been through countless such valleys in Peru, we were not so impressed. However, I liked the unusual blue of the storage lake behind the dam. Overall, we found our outing the next day to the port city of Coquimbo more interesting.

View of Elqui Valley from Cerro de la Virgen in Vicuña.


Another view of Elqui Valley from Cerro de la Virgen in Vicuña. That's a vineyard at left center.


The storage lake and dam as seen from a speeding bus.


Sharing this pint of homemade ice cream (half coffee, half chocolate) at El Cobre Soda Fountain was the perfect way to end our day trip to the Elqui Valley.


View of the coast at Fort Coquimbo.


The Cross of the Third Millennium in Coquimbo which soars 93 meters above the highest hill.


Felt pretty safe as we walked up the hills in Coquimbo, being that we were out of danger from tsunamis.


The bandshell on the Plaza de Armas in Coquimbol ready for The Feast of Epiphany.