Iquique, Chile
Shortly after a beautiful sunrise, we arrived in Iquique, Chile. This bustling city was once part of Peru and grew in prosperity from saltpetre mining, a form of potassium nitrate. It was ceded to Chile in 1883 after the War of the Pacific. Iquique is a city of 200,000 people and sits between the Chilean coastal mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Near the center of town is a huge sand dune known as Devil's Hill. Formed 20,000 years ago, it is the largest urban sand dune in the world reaching a height of 1,500' and stretching 2.5 miles in length. It is world renowned to sand-boarding enthusiasts. Our tour today took us over the coastal mountains and into the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world. To the east we could see distant peaks of the Andes. Our first stop was at the Santa Laura ghost town, site of a once thriving Saltpetre mine and processing operation. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site....