Walking in Chile - Atacama (2)

a piece of history

After arriving in Santiago, it’s a two-hour flight from Santiago to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. In this strange country like Chile, it seems that the only way to get anywhere is by plane. You will be convinced by flying.

It was only after I decided to go here that I learned about the existence of such a desert, and upon further investigation, I found out that this desert, which is now basically all owned by Chile, also has a thrilling history and is accompanied by territorial disputes that continue to this day. There was once a war between Chile, Peru and Bolivia to compete for this desert. This war had a very domineering name - the South American Pacific War. When Spanish rule ended and countries became independent one after another, Bolivia and Chile had some disputes on their borders in the Atacama Desert, but the conflicts were not major because at that time this barren land was not too big for either side. the value of. At that time, Bolivia and Chile almost split the Atacama Desert equally, and Bolivia was not a landlocked country. But the discovery of large amounts of saltpeter resources in the Atacama Desert broke this balance. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, large-scale machine production brought about an abundance of products and an increase in population, but there was no corresponding increase in food production. A major problem was the limited supply of nitrogen fertilizers used to increase yields, which at the time could only be obtained from nitrates in naturally mined saltpeter. So this barren land that can provide the main raw materials for nitrogen fertilizer suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention. In 1875, Bolivia proposed to impose an additional tax of 3 cents on the Chilean company that was mining saltpeter on its territory. However, the Chilean company insisted that it had received a 25-year tax exemption commitment from the Bolivian government in its previous agreement with the Bolivian government, and Bolivia reneged on its promise. The reason is that the tax exemption was not approved by Congress at that time. In 1878, when Bolivia insisted on collecting taxes and the Chilean company refused to pay taxes, the Bolivian government confiscated the Chilean company and threatened to sell the company to offset taxes. So Chile sent a fleet, and the war began. So how did Peru get involved? Peru sold out the guano on the guano islands along the coast (also used as the main component of fertilizer), and its income dropped sharply. In order to increase its income, it monopolized the nitrate business, so it took the opportunity to get involved in this war in an attempt to get a piece of the pie. Chile asked Peru to remain neutral, but Bolivia had secretly won over Peru and the two sides formed an alliance, so Chile declared war on Bolivia and Peru.

The result of this war is the current situation we see today. Chile controls most of the land in the Atacama Desert, and Bolivia loses its territory on the Pacific coast and degenerates into a landlocked country. However, Bolivia's efforts to return to the Pacific Ocean have never ended. It has always hoped to regain some coastal territories through the International Court of Justice. However, the substance of territorial disputes between countries is greater than the form. Whoever occupies it will get it. There is not so much truth to say. The plan to open a corridor for Bolivia in northern Chile has also been discussed in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, but so far no plan has emerged that satisfies the interests of the three parties. The Atacama Desert that Chile obtained through this war can be said to have made a lot of money, but it was not because of saltpeter. In 1911, the German Jewish chemist Fritz Haber used hydrogen and ammonia in the air to react under high temperature and high pressure conditions to generate ammonia (NH3). He invented the technology of artificially synthesizing ammonia, which made the manufacture of fertilizers no longer dependent on saltpeter. The price of saltpeter has also plummeted (it is said that this discovery was also due to the needs of the First World War. The ammonia needed to make explosives could only be obtained by purchasing saltpeter, which greatly restricted the production and use of explosives. Because of the emergence of artificial ammonia technology, explosives The production also flourished, adding a lot of firepower to World War I and World War II).

What I saw today

After talking about the past history of Atacama, let’s talk about the Atacama that I have seen today. It is said that this is the place with the least precipitation in the world. The extremely arid place only has three to five millimeters a year, so it has won the honorary title of the world's driest place . The reasons for this drought include the obstruction of the Andes Mountains and unknown changes in the western Pacific Ocean currents here (it seems to have brought rich fishing grounds to Peru). In short, it is not conducive to rainfall, and the driest part of it It is flanked by the Andes and the Chilean Coast Mountains. Due to drought, the peaks here with an altitude of more than 6,000 meters are rarely covered with snow.

As for the landscape in the desert, in addition to the yellow sand rock areas mixed with salt and the clear and bright plateau salt lakes, the main thing you can see is the vast and vast scenery of the plateau. The place you visited is not the barren land you imagined. There is still some vegetation. Maybe we didn’t go to the heart of the desert. Occasionally, you can see one or two small towns scattered in the desert. The stone houses are low and dim, and the sun is scorching unbridled human gatherings. The wilderness is barren, the eyes are yellow, and there is little color. Humans are just this vast world. The dispensable embellishments are really disappointing.

As a tourist, it is not easy to start a journey here. Take a two-hour flight from Santiago to a city called Calama. Then take an hour's minibus ride from Calama to the tourist town of San Pedro in northern Chile. After arriving in San Pedro, you can finally start playing. The small town of San Pedro makes a living from tourism. The entire town is either hotels, restaurants, shops, or travel agencies. The streets are bustling with tourists from all over the world, with different shapes and colors, speaking different languages ​​and expressing similar excitement. The temperature difference here is huge, with the sun shining brightly at noon and the temperature plummeting at night. At noon, the streets are crowded with sunhats, sunglasses and short-sleeved shorts. In the evening, down jackets, hiking shoes and cotton hats and gloves are crowded around the bonfire in restaurants. During the day, the streets are full of restlessness and restlessness in preparation for departure and supplies on the way. At night, the restaurants and bars are filled with the tiredness and laziness waiting for rest and relief after running around. In the blink of an eye, the town changed its appearance, and everyone completed this switch tacitly and tacitly. In this barren land where nature is miraculous, people from all over the world gather in this momentary oasis. They have different languages, different cultures, and different skin colors, but they have the same curiosity and desire for the world. They may They have ridden hard and sweated profusely in this desolate world. They may have been lucky enough to travel together and enjoy the beautiful scenery together. But no matter what the experience, everyone will leave behind memories of this land. Whether you are amazed or disappointed, they are all unique in life and irreplaceable. In this way, in retrospect, this town is really interesting.

With the town of San Pedro as the center, you can visit various surrounding attractions. If you are not renting a car and driving yourself, the main way to travel is to join a local half-day group or one-day group. On the main street of the town of San Pedro, there are many travel agencies that provide services such as this kind of day trip. These tours provide both English and Spanish tour guides, but what is very strange is that the knowledgeable classmate Z and I seem to be the only ones who need English services in each group we participate in, and everyone else can understand Spanish (it’s unbelievable that English has become a non-mainstream). Because the appearance is obviously different from others, every time the tour guide speaks English, he directly faces us. Because I was always distracted, sometimes I couldn't hear clearly, sometimes I couldn't understand, and sometimes I was too lazy to listen, so the important task of making eye contact and verbal communication with the tour guide fell on the knowledgeable classmate Z. Fortunately, classmate Z was excellent in English and I am active and eager to learn, chatting and laughing with the tour guide all the way. My main role is to get on the bus and stare blankly, get off the bus to take pictures, and get on the bus on time so as not to be late.

moon valley

The Valley of the Moon in Chile is called Valle de la Luna. I checked and found that there is also a Valley of the Moon in neighboring Bolivia. Then I read someone else’s travel notes that there is also a Valley of the Moon in Jordan. I don’t know how many moon valleys there are in the world. It seems that humans have given the name “Moon Valley” to places with a surface that looks like the surface of the moon, but this should be considered the first moon valley I have ever been to ( I hope that my forgetfulness has not forgotten the past memories, and I hope that Cappadocia in Turkey, which I also feel very much like the surface of the moon, does not have the Valley of the Moon).

The main view of Moon Valley is to appreciate the sunset. The afterglow of the setting sun is spread on the rocks covered with white salt. It is undulating and scattered. With the distant mountains covered in red coat, it is vast and tender. Bathed in this gentle light, It's like being caressed by the world.

But to be honest, although the sunset scenery of Moon Valley is magnificent, it is not very shocking. I remember that the Tibetan Guge Dynasty taken by my photographer friend Lao Pi was not inferior.

This attraction is called the Three Marias, but I don’t know what the legend is.

Tropic of Capricorn

Fortunately, some words in Spanish and English are similar. Adding a series of latitude numbers, you can roughly guess that this is the Tropic of Capricorn.

Lagunas Miscanti Y Miniques

There are two very close salt lakes on a plateau more than 4,000 meters above sea level. I don’t know what their names are. Lagunas probably means lakes in Spanish. The remaining two words starting with M should be the names of these two lakes. name. The styles of the two lakes are somewhat different. One is beautiful and the other is magnificent. Xiaojiabiyu can be compared to the ladies of everyone. In contrast, , the one with the open landscape is more to my liking.

The one in blue clothes in the middle is our tour guide. What a coincidence is that he is the tour guide for both groups we signed up for. This guy is really a good tour guide who is responsible, responsible, and humorous. He talked about various legends, historical allusions, and scientific knowledge along the way, and his expressions were rich and lifelike, making him an emoticon. At this time, he is introducing us to the five sacred mountains in front of us. In the picture, he leads everyone to stretch out their hands and mutter a lot of Spanish, which should be praying to the sacred mountains.

Laguna Chaxa

It is said that there are many flamingos in this lake in the summer. Because it is winter now, the flamingos are not at home. Only a few that are not afraid of the cold are active on the water.

Laguna Cejar

This is a highly buoyant salt lake where people can float freely on the water, comparable to the Dead Sea.

I didn’t plan to go into the water at first, because I was afraid of the cold and it was too troublesome. But when I saw that everyone in the same car had prepared their equipment to go into the water, I regretted my laziness. However, when I took off my shoes and tried it in the water, I finally no longer regretted it. It was really cold to the bone; Then I also found that the water used for showering next to me was also cold water. I began to be glad that I didn't go in. . I think I usually sneeze at least fifty times the next day after swimming in a water temperature of 25 or 6 degrees Celsius. If the water goes down, I might just stay in bed the next day. However, the Waiguoren in the same car were all strong and full of firepower, and they all flopped around inside.

Ojos del Salar

The lake in this scenic spot is like a mirror, reflecting everything on the shore. The surface of the lake was motionless, without a single ripple. It was as quiet as a mirror.

If I remember correctly, this man in red is the father of a Brazilian family of three in our car

The wine in the glass is the pisco sour that I tasted after arriving in Chile and liked it very much. I also brought a bottle of pisco sour back from Chile all the way.

Laguna Tebinquiche

A lake where you can watch the sunset. The scenery is very spectacular. I feel that my skills cannot capture the feeling of the scene.

The entire lake and mountains are covered with a layer of light red, and the water and sky advance and retreat in the same color. From bright red to light red to dull, it is like a drop of red watercolor falling into the water and then slowly spreading out. It is rich at first, then sparse, and finally dim. Different from the brilliant golden sunset and the mysterious distance exuded in Moon Valley, this red is transparent, clear, pure and peaceful. Looking at the mountains and water, you will feel inner peace and tranquility. Looking at the beauty of nature, all the beautiful memories will come to mind. Looking at the majesty of heaven and earth, all past grievances are not worth remembering. For a moment, I even wished that time could stop...

Actually, you see, when I am very happy, I am very scared. I have the impression that unfortunately, at least sadness is always more normal than happiness and joy. When I am happy, I always feel like I have to pay for it later, and I often even have to pay the price in advance. ——Frances Sargon