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Chile - Caldera and Bahia Inglesa6 Jun 2007
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Port town of Caldera
Iglesia de San Vicente - the only old building in town
Seaside town of Bahia Inglesa
We had heard that Caldera and Bahia Inglesa had gorgious beaches and fantastic seafood restaurants so we decided to make the effort to stop here for a day or two. From San Pedro it is an 11 hour journey via Calama to the port town of Caldera.
Setting off at 8am we arrived in Caldera at 8pm and set off to find a hostel for the night. After being asked to pay $50 at the first hostel we set about finding the budget option and a bit of a dump listed in the Lonely Planet for $34. It was a shocker of a room. Cut in half with paper thin walls dividing us from the heavy snorers next door we set about getting some sleep for our day ahead.
Caldera is a fishing and navy port with the desert landscape as a backdrop. The sun was beating down from a cloudless sky but the wind was freezing cold. We walked the town flat in about 10 mins as everything was shut up for the winter season so decided that we would head off to Bahia Inglesa. This seaside town is quite weird really. Set amongst a backdrop of the vast Chilean desert this little oasis is set on the shores of the coast and is famous for its lovely white sandy beaches. Glorious sunshine and blue skies was once again set off by the cold wind. The sea front for this town was probably 200 yards long, lovely and looked to be a fun place at night and in the height of summer.
Unfortunately for us being winter nothing opened before midday and probably didnt open at all. We perservered for a few hours taking in some lunch and a few drinks before calling it a day and heading back to Caldera. We did love Caldera and Bahia Inglesa and would love to come back, but just not in the winter months.
As there wasnt a huge amount left to do here we decided that we would get the overnight bus out of town. We had decided that we wanted to head as far south as possible now, to the Chilean Lake District before the snow set in. This meant a 24 hour bus journey and for Debs a horrid journey. A giant of a man sat in front of her for the overnight journey with his seat crushing her little legs. Harsh words were being looked up in the dictionary that night for sure!!!
