When we arrived in Calama, I went to meet my hosts who live 5 minutes from the bus station and from the town centre. They are a lovely family, very talkative and full of energy. There is nothing to see in the town really, I am just stopping to have a rest and obviously the family is a great experience for me.
I introduced Thomas to the family. They invited us to eat with them but at the end it was Thomas and I who bought food in a supermarket and cooked. The food was Thomas' idea and it was absolutely delicious (in the picture Thomas in action). Then we sat in the kitchen, talking for ages, until Thomas had to catch his bus at night. The Family is great. The mother and father who are in their 60's recently went on a trip to Argentina and Urugway, doing Couch Surfing. Isn't it amazing?...
Some facts about the north part of Chile:
- it is very rich in minerals such as copper, iron, nitrates
- the biggest in the world open copper mine is situated 16 km from Calama. I was going to visit the mine but the tour was fully booked for the next 5 days
http://www.visitchile.com/eng/atacama-desert-altiplano/destination.asp?id=100
- there are many earthquakes, every day, just that most of them are unnoticeable. It is better when they are small and frequent so they don't accumulate resulting in one deadly earthquake
- Atacama desert is the driest places in the world. The Family told me the last time they experienced little rain 4 years ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert
- it was Chile - Urugway football match at night. Chile won 2:0. People in bars got crazy :)
My pictures from the capital of Bolivia:
La Paz
