Chacabuco

This week we took a road trip about an hour and a half north to Chacabuco, a 1920s saltpeter mining town that has been deserted for many, many years.  While it was made into a national heritage site by the Chilean government sometime in the recent years, it was actually used as a prison camp in the 70's under Pinochet's rule.  I will spare you the details (but you can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chacabuco).  I have to say it was truly haunting.  Very creepy.  We pulled up to the entrance (the town itself was made so that it there was sort of a wall around it), and of course there was no one there.  The caretaker was not responding to us ringing the huge bell, so we started walking around.  A herd of dogs came over to us, but luckily they were tame and followed by the caretaker who opened the gate to let us drive around.  Of the 80 pictures I took, below are the best representations of the remains of the town.  I would like to remind you, this is in the MIDDLE of NOWHERE in the driest place on earth.  I have no idea how they survived here.  How did they get water???

I have to be honest, the more I explore Antofagasta and the surrounding region, the more I like it and appreciate it.  It is so much more than I expected.  I live in a mountainous desert by the ocean that is full of minerals.  The mining industry is the foundation of this sprawling city of almost half a million people.  And, we are in the middle of nowhere.  All around us are these huge mines, supporting the world's demand for copper.  And, again, we are in the middle of nowhere.  I have never seen anything like it.