MORE CHILEAN DESTINATIONS

Let’s head directly west of Santiago to a little spot called Robinson Crusoe Island…the largest of the three islands in the Juan Fernandez archipelago, was formerly known as Mas a Tierra, which means ‘closer to land’.  Its located 674 km (418 miles) from the mainland.  Formed by lava, the landscape on the island is very hilly and the beaches are sometimes rocky, but it looks heavenly.  According to the locals, pirates really did hang out there and it’s the spot where shipwrecked sailor Alexander Selkirk spent four years.  Selkirk story inspired Daniel Defoe to write….here it comes….”Robinson Crusoe”.

Back on mainland Chile we head north and inland to the Andes Mountains on the border with Bolivia and find a quaint little town known as Calama.  Here we find the El Tatio Geysers.  At 4,200 meters above sea level it is the third largest geyser field in the world.  Nearly 80 geysers erupt steam and some spew as high as eight meters (over 26 feet).  The early bird gets the best pictures, but be careful….there are no signs to warn visitors that they could fall through the cracks, and they do…regularly, and get burned.  Geez…hard to get happy after that.   

It’s been fun….I will miss doing this, sort of, and I will miss all your comments.  See you around…like a donut.  (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)  Pat