where the Mars Rover was tested
NASA uses the rugged terrain of the Atacama as an analog for Mars. There the Mars Rover was tested.
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These photographs, taken from our tour bus….
….enroute to Humberstone World Heritage Site….
Speak for themselves.
References
Website: mars.nasa.gov/resources/8351/atacama-landscape/
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
appearance of reality
Along Dragon Hill the road turns 90 degrees toward the east, becoming the “Rutas del Desierrto,” shortly, the Alto Hospicio comes into view, a municipality and commune separate from and above Iquique on the desert plain, “the pampa.” The miners who lived and worked at Humberstone, the World Heritage Site we will visit, were called “pampino salitrero.”
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Alto Hospicio in 2012 was home to 94,254 souls, as a rapidly growing area there were more this February, 2016. The Colegio Macaya of the photograph, rising above ramshackle dwellings of improvised materials, is an elementary school, near as I can tell with my rudimentary knowledge of the Spanish language.
Proximity to Iquique and its port, its road connectivity to inland roads to large mining centers in Arica-Parinacota, Tarapacá and Atacama regions, was well as cheap land, make this district a strategic link for industry and mining service-rendering companies. Iquique Duty Free Zone has 316 acres in behind this sign where better and seventy (70) percent of revenues are derived.
References
Wikipedia – “Alto Hospicio“.
Web site: https://www.zofri.cl/en-us/Inversiones/ParqueEmpresarial-AltoHospicio/Pages/Home.aspx
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
a stable sand dune.
Cerro Dragón is a geographical and urban landmark made up of a large dune that is located in the coastal area of Norte Grande, Chile, within the city of Iquique.
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April 18, 2005 it was declared a National Monument Nature Sanctuary. Approximately 4 kilometers long, 834.06 acres. Its location between the urban settlement of Iquique in the lower marine terrace and the growing urbanization of Alto Hospicio in the pampa, as well as its characteristics of open, imposing and original landscape, give the city of Iquique a unique identity.
By virtue of its peculiar characteristics, Cerro Dragón became a symbol for the Iquique community, which has internalized it in its collective imagination as a fundamental part of its territorial identity.
References
I copied the Spanish text from a web site about this Iquique feature. My text is a translation from Google Translate.
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
from the escarpment.
February for northern Chile corresponds to August for the USA, yet this shot of the main stretch of Iquique beach shows it empty on this Wednesday. I asked the tour guide and his response was “it is pack on the weekend.” hmmm
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Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Father-son connection
Puerto Montt, port for the Lakes Region, and Iquique of the northern Atacama desert were linked when the Chilean Army massacred striking Saltpeter workers, their wive and children where they gathered in protest of poor working conditions, December 21, 1907. Over 15,000 were gathered when the Army opened fire. Death certificates for the victims were suppressed by the government, over 3,000 were buried in a common grave without ceremony in the city cemetery.
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The connection is father-son. Puerto Montt, founded by German immigrants and named for the president at the time, Manuel Montt, who invited German farmers suffering from a famine with the goal of populating the region. Montt was successful in this goal. In 1907 his son, Pedro’s first official act as newly elected president was, with Saltpeter production at a halt, to send the army to Iquique to suppress striking workers.
Now, there is a monument to these workers, “Monumento al pampino salitrero,” above the city plain. Set apart and poorly maintained, trash strewn, is a nod to the importance of railroads for the transportation of the mined product. A few hundred feet away….
….on a round-about is the monument.
Fresh tribute wreaths are on the south side.
References
Wikipedia – “Saltpeter Workers of Chile“, “Puerto Montt”, “Pedro Montt”, “Santa María School massacre”.
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
inundation
Iquique is a native word for “pleasant place.” It has no (NO!!) rainfall, though almost always cloudy with fogs. On the Pacific rim, sudden, unexpected inundation by water is a fact of life. At this point, the corner of Manuel Bulnes and Avenue of the Heroes of the Conception, the land is sloping up toward the escarpment, 125 feet above sea level, one mile from the ocean. Here we are “officially safe,” an oxymoron.
Twenty months prior Iquique was struck by an offshore earthquake, 8.2 magnitude, followed by a seven foot tsunami. Here, Matarani, Coquimbo, Valparaiso I was happy when we passed these signs (with English translations for us tourists). Traffic congestion would doom us if an earthquake/tsunami struck during the port/downtown transit.
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On this lot is a dwelling, haphazardly constructed of concrete blocks, evidence of desperate poverty. The fence signs (“Se Vende” — for sale) presage the leveling of this corner. Just this year, the street has seen riots…….
Click me for better experience viewing the following video. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page. Note the replay icon (an arrow circling counter-clockwise.
References
Wikipedia – “Iquique“, “2014 Iquique earthquake.”
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
appearance of reality
Baquedano crosses Manuel Bulnes and forms the east side of Arturo Prat plaza. It is a long avenue in the old quarter of Iquique, a popular tourist attraction and is a “typical zone,” a status that preserves its historical and architectural heritage. It is characterized by late 19th- and early 20th-century wooden houses. Baquedano Street was transformed by city government into an attractive pedestrian boulevard. The architecture that Baquedano Street exemplifies accommodates Iquique’s prevailing climatic conditions.
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The buildings on Baquedano Street and, in general, all those that follow the city’s traditional architecture, were built as stores or houses by immigrants who amassed fortunes through the nitrate works. The buildings typically show a continuous facade,a verticality and lightness. They are typically organized around a central nucleus and feature vestibules, verandas, skylights or lanterns, watchtowers, and a serial or “shady” roof over the terrace roof.
Above, a mixed series of homes. At left, a rundown, one-story timber structure with a “shady” roof intended to cool the interior. The bright blue and beige, at right, are cinder block, as is the following with the front door blocked open to let in the air, a very hot tin roof. Windows and first floor porches are heavily barred or fenced for security.
A common theme here and in Lima, Peru: additional living space above an existing structure thrown together of cheap materials, half done (ran out of funds), no insulation.
Views of the city open up as we climb the escarpment to the desert plateau. In the foreground a tenement, cinder block homes, glittering skyscrapers with ocean views in the distance.
References
Wikipedia – “Baquedano Street“,
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
from the tour bus
Aníbal Pinto is the street that passes the main square and theater, named for a President of Chile in the 19th Century during a time of crises, notably the War of the Pacific. Logging the Alerce tree was outlawed in 1976, even before then it was a luxury reserved for elite. Most buildings are of these masonry blocks, part of the Hotel Costa Norte, under construction at the corner of Manuel Bulnes. Mural art lined both corner surfaces. Some was apolitical, such as this colorful mandala surrounded by flowers, butterflies, bees on the east side of Aníbal Pinto.
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Turning east onto Manuel Bulnes (a street name) the Atacama desert escarpment comes into view above low concrete block structures (no highrises in sight). Outside the bus window is this political statement. The red brick painted, “DERRIBA” is Spanish “knock it down.” The red brick fallen away reveals suppressed speech, on left. The profile of the Chilean poet and statesman Pablo Neruda, his stylized speech transforming the dead landscape.
Manuel Bulnes, another 19th century Chilean president, was also a military officer who fought for Chilean independence from the Spanish.
A mural of unidentified pugilists, a solid left jab on a small street named for Oscar Bonilla, one of the main conspirators in the military coup against Salvador Allende. As Defense Minister, Bonilla went against Pinochet. Shortly after was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash.
On a happier note…Santa Claus entering a chimney strung with lights.
References
Wikipedia – “Aníbal Pinto“, “Manuel Bulnes” , “Oscar Bonilla”, and “List of Presidents of Chile”
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Dinner and Theater
Fitzroya cupressoides is a tall, long lived evergreen tree. Also called Alerce, the forests covered large areas of the Chilean Andes. Alerce wood was the principle source of Colonial commerce between Chile and Peru and was heavily logged in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Alerce lumber was used to build, in 1889, the Municipal Theater on Auturo Prat plaza. Today the theater offers performances and hosts a School of Ballet.
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The legend of the theater includes the actress Sarah Bernhardt. After Iquique booked her performance Barnhardt’s uncharitable comments about the low quality of the venue (“It was a shed”) embarrassed the powers that be, who released their wealth to fund this late 19th century building from the height of saltpeter prosperity.
We turn east here, toward the desert escarpment. Here is a young family out for a bike ride. Interesting sign of local cuisine.
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Another Hero
Shortly after the Maritime Government plaza is a crossroads with this interesting sign. The first line references two attractions. “ZOFRI” is the local abbreviation for the designation of Iquique as a port with tax advantages. The destination of this sign is a shopping mall. “Esmeralda” is the living museum I photographed from the tender. Our route to the Atacama desert took us through “Centro” with views of “Sur-Cavancha” on our ascension of the escarpment.
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As we approach the central square, this local wonder is on the corner. Any wood must be acquired over long distances as little (close to nothing) grows locally.
Declared a National Historic Landmark on July 13, 1987 this Clock Tower, together with the buildings surrounding it in the plaza (the Municipal Theater of Iquique, the building of the Workers Welfare Society of Tarapacá, the Casino Español and the Club Croata) is one of the most representative urban expressions of the “Saltpeter Period”, a time which saw much foreign investment. Built 1878 when Iquique was Peru territory, the partition walls of Oregon pine wood, a clock mechanism from England. Saltpeter, a nitrogen rich deposit on the Atacama desert surface, brought thousands of poor workers to exploit the natural resource and to, in turn, be exploited.
I decided against straightening the tower, too much was lost in the process.
A pair of linear fountains run parallel to the road, framing the clock tower or theater depending on the point of view.
References
Wikipedia – “Zona Franca of Iquique” and “Clock Tower (Iquique).”
Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 