Exploring: Santiago, Valpo and La Serena; Day 8
Observatories of Valle de Elqui. (and a long bus ride home)
After an early breakfast (specially prepared), we headed down valley to the Tololo entrance gate where we were given a stern safety talk. As this is a private science facility, the road is not the same kind of lawless track that we spend much of the previous day exploring. Instead there are emergency phones every 5 km and our 12 cars were required to remain in a relatively tight caravan. After ~40 minutes of driving through stark desert mountain landscape, we arrived at the top of the peak and marveled at the strange concentration of resources in the middle of nowhere. It makes sense to have an observatory like this here (high, dry and dark), but it is still strange to stumble upon it given the rather raw nature of the rest of the region.
Following Tololo, we headed back to Vicuna for lunch (Yo y Siempre Yo) and some ice cream and coffee. We had a restful time wandering town and playing on the ubiquitous exercise equipment. We then joined another caravan of cars to the Cerro Mamalluca Observatory and had a great time using different telescopes to see planets, moons, twin stars, galaxies and a whole bunch of other fun things. I think the most novel thing I heard about was how the Incas looked at the dark spots in the Milky Way and saw shapes in the darkness, rather than connecting the dots of stars to make constellations. I also did not know that the dark spots in the Milky Way are actually clouds of dust rather that places where there are just less stars. Cool!
After the tour, we made fast tracks back to La Serena where we had to return the rental car and take a taxi first to a grocery store (Bus food!) then to the bus station where we waited from 10:30 till 1:30 for our bus ride back to Concepcion. To pass the time, Dylan and I headed off to prowl downtown La Serena on a Saturday night. Aside from a few couples making out on park benches, the town was quiet and peaceful.
After an early breakfast (specially prepared), we headed down valley to the Tololo entrance gate where we were given a stern safety talk. As this is a private science facility, the road is not the same kind of lawless track that we spend much of the previous day exploring. Instead there are emergency phones every 5 km and our 12 cars were required to remain in a relatively tight caravan. After ~40 minutes of driving through stark desert mountain landscape, we arrived at the top of the peak and marveled at the strange concentration of resources in the middle of nowhere. It makes sense to have an observatory like this here (high, dry and dark), but it is still strange to stumble upon it given the rather raw nature of the rest of the region.
(LINK to full size view)
Following Tololo, we headed back to Vicuna for lunch (Yo y Siempre Yo) and some ice cream and coffee. We had a restful time wandering town and playing on the ubiquitous exercise equipment. We then joined another caravan of cars to the Cerro Mamalluca Observatory and had a great time using different telescopes to see planets, moons, twin stars, galaxies and a whole bunch of other fun things. I think the most novel thing I heard about was how the Incas looked at the dark spots in the Milky Way and saw shapes in the darkness, rather than connecting the dots of stars to make constellations. I also did not know that the dark spots in the Milky Way are actually clouds of dust rather that places where there are just less stars. Cool!
After the tour, we made fast tracks back to La Serena where we had to return the rental car and take a taxi first to a grocery store (Bus food!) then to the bus station where we waited from 10:30 till 1:30 for our bus ride back to Concepcion. To pass the time, Dylan and I headed off to prowl downtown La Serena on a Saturday night. Aside from a few couples making out on park benches, the town was quiet and peaceful.
Though no one likes a long bus ride, our trip home (12+ hours) went smoothly. It followed the usual sequence: sleep, movie, stare out the window, sleep, read, talk, sleep, stare outside, repeat. By 2 pm on Sunday we were back home, unpacked and happy to just be somewhere (kinda) familiar.