Las Dunas Iquique

... thermals. A thermal is a column of warm air rising over cold. As the air rises, the decreasing pressure causes the air to cool until it becomes colder than the air around it and so spills out away from the column of rising air and falls back to ground. In other words, around every column of rising air exists a curtain of falling air and the stronger the uplift, the ...

... I was jumping yet, I didnt get a chance to get my camera out. Steve and Mike both got lots of pictures though. Just before the landing, the pilot does some stunts for you which are pretty cool. All in all, it was not that nervewracking, it was actually pretty relaxing and provided for some great views. I would do it again in a heart beat. After paragliding we went out for dinner, and then caught a "night bus" (more on this later) for San Pedro de Atacama.

... and we opted for one with two windows, which allowed for a bit of airflow through the otherwise stuffy room. The window looked into the hallway, which really sucked. We headed into the centro, but took a little detour, and finally found a decent looking hostel a bit closer to everything. We booked 3 more nights in this second hostel, starting the following night. We bought some supplies from the supermarket, including our Pastel de Choclo dinner, and desserts, but ...

... surprised that once at the first window we get sent to another window, then another and yet another. Four forms later, 3 different people and several people in line frustrated with us because we don´t know the system we are ready for inspection. The inspectors are the most thorough yet and pull off both my panniers and inspect them. The instant we ...

... were much the same. I still don't like it. Chris and I were both tired so it wasn't a late night. Summer is really hot in this part of the world, so I don't know exactly why we decided to climb Iquique's urban sand dune. Well, I do, it was because we were going to last time we were here but never got around to it. Also because it would be good practise for climbing Aconcagua. Anyway, it was hot and difficult. Chris and I ...

... sidewalks and old saloon looking buildings on either side. It was built in the early 1900's during the nitrate mining boom. It is a pedestrian walkway with trolley tracks down the center. Half the buildings are abandon and the others are hotels or restaurants. One night, we were enjoying a beer outside at a restaurant and a woman came up to our table in a hurry and held out her hand - that was filled with band-aids - she wanted to know if we wanted to ...

... tots naturals, etc. Ambdos instal.lacions mineres foren abandonades al tancar la fàbrica amb l'aparició dels nitrats sintètics. I, la gent va saquejar la fusta i altres materials i es van construir les seves cases a la població de Iquique. Actualment estan treballant per la conservació gràcies a l'associació dels fills dels pampinos -ex-treballadors i fills d'aquests- que es preocupen per la seva restauració. A la ex-oficina de Humberstone ens ...

... we thought that the place also had a certain charm to it in the same way a run down British seaside resort has and we really hoped to find some penny slot games and candy floss. In addition, the smell of the sea air (albeit tainted with a slight fishiness!!) and the ability to breathe at sea level was a welcome relief. We took the opportunity to spend some time on the beach and swim in the sea, which was great. Our hostel was pretty relaxed ...

Being on holidays we lost track of days and dates and thinking that we had only one more day before we flew to Lima we took off early in the morning to Iquique. This was another drive through yet more desert and as you approach the town this is where it gets interesting. Iquique is founded at the base of huge mountain range and a huge sand dune and if you look down ...

... wouldn't bite me in the butt! The road from Iquique to Pintados pass through a national reserve - Reserva Nacional Pampa del Tamarugal, which you may see on a map, but it honestly hasn't got much to offer to the traveller - it's just a desert reserve protecting a single species of trees, called Tamarugal - it's special for it's strength as it can live under the world's ***********ditions, in the world's driest desert and is native to Chile. They live in the salt soil, where ...