Fiambala, Argentina, Hotel JR, 5600′ high :
Leaving San Pedro is leaving a comfortable place, made for tourists : bars and restaurants of all kind, quiet hotels, nice view, some interesting attractions around town, tourists agencies a bit everywhere… There is something for everybody there but finally it is a bit of an artificial bubble that doesn’t cross local’s life.
To reach Argentina there is two possibilities and one of them, that goes back on the Altiplano, seems to be outside of the tourist loop. The excellent road goes up slowly and crosses some interesting villages, or goes by the giant radio telescope ALMA. Then, volcanoes are around and some rare mini bus with tourists are exploring a couple of wonderful lakes.
Above 13100′, we are tasting a delightful loneliness again, surrounded only by flamingos and vicuñas. The light is changing the scenery on the Salar de Talar all evening long. We are back in altitude on the altiplano !
A very good dirt road is going toward Argentina and there is nobody else on it. The landscape starts to be so wide that we just feel so little and so far from everything. After a long straight line, a sign in the middle of the road indicates that we are in Argentina.
A bit later, the border office is a very modern complex, literally coming from nowhere, 4 hours from San Pedro in Chile, 2 or 3 hours from the next town in Argentina, just lost in the middle of the Atacama Desert. After a little detour to fill up our gas tank, we can hit back the road toward Antofagasta de la Sierra. At the border, nobody seems to know this town and everybody thinks that we are talking about Antofagasta in Chile, on the pacific coast. Who finally knows Antofagasta de la Sierra in Argentina ? Even on Internet it is hard to find informations. For us it is just a point on the GPS, right on our road…
Going up in the mountains, the landscape is changing again and become incredible. The wind has literally mown this volcanic environment. Some yellow grass, some others green, are brining a rich touch of color in this grey and dark red world. The dirt road is excellent because of a lithium mine near a Salar. Between this mine and Antofagasta de la Sierra, it is 50 more miles of very bad, barely used (no more than few vehicle per month), and unmaintained tracks. But it is as well the beginning of some of the most incredible scenery : the landscape is just fantastic and so wide !
On the left, some rocks are looking like the Dali Boulders in the south Lipez (Bolivia), but wider and richer, on the right volcanoes are stunning. The Galan is the highest mountain on the east side, on the west side it is the Antofalla. And Antofagasta de la Sierra is there, sheltered at the bottom of the valley, 4 hours from the first town (Belen). The volcanic area is absolutely sublime ! It looks like this town is still waiting for its tourists : some blocks seem totally abandoned, and after talking with some people it appears that they don’t understand why nobody is coming here. This place is definitely richer than a lot of national parks : pink flamingos, Salars, altitude lakes, rich and diverse fauna, volcanoes, high mountains, lava flow, hot springs,… We are just falling in love with this place.
A little bit further, there is the village of El Piñon and people are saying the same thing. Why is there no more tourists around here ? An we are falling in love with El Piñon too : electricity from 5pm to 9 pm, small restaurants that are actually family houses opening their door to let you come in for some empanadas or a plate of locro (pumpkin soup with corn and meat). There is a soccer tournament this week end : the field is sloppy, wind is blowing hard and playing with the ball, dust is everywhere, a dog is crossing the field again and again, and snowy mountains are on the background.
We are finally leaving this welcoming and incredible place to reach Belen, 4500′ only. At the bottom of the valley, it doesn’t feel like Andes anymore, but more like Italy or Spain in the 80’s. Shirtless teenagers on Vespas or small motorcycle without helmet, vineyard, olive trees, heat (90 F), a warm wind from the south, horses are crossing the road… Then it is Tinofagasta, a nice small town, and finally Fiambala where we will stay for a little while. We reached the U-turn point of our trip, but we will enjoy the surrounding mountains before heading back…
