Calama is a mining town in the Atacama desert. It has a tiny airport, principally used for business visits to and from the mine and for ferrying tourists to the neighbouring San Pedro de Atacama (been there but that will be another post). Calama itself is most definitely not a tourist destination and has got a pretty bad reputation for being ugly, unsafe and expensive. It is known for the 3Ps:
- Polvo "Dust" - sand from the desert and the mines that blows into town and gets EVERYWHERE
- Perros "Dogs" - specifically street dogs that roam the town and generally look underfed and skanky. This is a problem throughout Chile
- Putas "Prostitutes" - lots of money and people working away earning lots of money in Calama... Nuff said
I can verify the first two but did not bear witness to the third... Can't say I was on the lookout. Anyhoo, as mentioned, Calama has a bad rep but I can honestly say that I had a lovely week there.
The first day of my visit involved a magical mystery tour of the city on the hunt for cars in an inventory check. I noticed that there are a TON of roadworks there, which is nice because my customer and honorary tour guide told me that locals had got a bit sick of all the money being taken out of Calama. At least now, they're working on improving the roads, etc. Another thing that I noticed and loved was the sunshine. Clear sky, warm weather, lush. This was definitely needed after a month of miserable weather in Santiago and my batteries are definitely recharged.
Well, I shall summarise. In my four days in Calama I was invited to lunch at the house of someone I barely know, I found some cute little cafes for lunch, saw the main square, got some sun, admired the view of the mountains and the mines and got alot done at work.
All in all, Calama was a resounding success. Hooray!
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