For those who do not, we're still in Chile. My comment yesterday was just over the situation we had experienced the previous weeks in Bolivia. We decided reluctantly leaving the country because of the instability that prevailed there. Current events unfortunately we confirm our choice: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0 0.1-0 @ @ 51-643387.0 2-3222,36-656759. html
Aujourd ' Today was a long day in Chile (for those who do not always ...). We go up the valley of the Elqui and finally leave the low clouds that cling to the coast. Unlike the rest of the region, here, the interior is not completely barren. Special climatic conditions and proximity to a river valley give this providential virtues of agricultural first order. It succeeds notament to cultivate fruit commonly found in tropical areas such as papaya or "chilimoya" (I pronounce the English but the real spelling is "cherimoya"). As and when we ride along the Elqui Valley, the vegetation changes gradually to become the Mediterranean type. It meets mainly vines used in the manufacture of alcohol: the Pisco. For those who follow and really remember our adventures, we have already visited a port city called Pisco in Peru and who boasted of producing alcohol of the same style based on the distillation of grapes. Well, historically, it is the same! At the time of the English colonies, only the port of Pisco in Peru was entitled to export the alcohol produced in the region of the Elqui. Commercially, this alcohol has taken the name of Pisco. When Chile gained its independence, it continued to sell liquor under that name. Peruvians, so clever, have muddied the waters by creating from scratch a similar alcohol in the region of Pisco. Thus there are two Pisco: one in Peru and one in Chile. Chileans to péreniser name, even renamed a village in "Pisco Elqui-" to make all this clearer ... You me follow? Good. You follow me even less when you get to your third glass tasting "Pisco Sour", the lighthouse cocktail made of Pisco: Pisco 3 doses, 1 dose of lemon juice, sugar and ice ...
The lunch takes place in a restaurant atypical since it works only on solar energy. The Elqui Valley is known for its almost constant sunshine: over three hundred days of sunshine per year. The restaurant does not close often. For the curious, the cooking of each dish is made in a solar oven with individual mirrors that concentrates the rays of the sun at its center. Thus, before the restaurant are placed twenty of these ovens, for each dish: bread, soup or chicken. Admittedly, the cooking is slow but everything is hot and very good at the plate!
Over Mountains OVERLOOKING Elqui Valley grows a variety of cactus funny: telescopes. Climatic conditions and air quality are among the best in the world for stargazing. The European and U.S. scientists have built several telescopes in the region to look deeper into the universe and time. The town of Vicuña had the smart idea to share this fever scientific ordinary building a super telescope "semi-amateur" with cupola and everything else. We therefore remain in the evening to enjoy this opportunitie. The tour is very educational and plunges us into the infinity of the universe. Our guide shows a dot in the sky. For us, a single star. But the same "star" seen in the telescope is actually a star cluster. And each of these-is-called "stars" is still a group of stars! And each is a galaxy. Ie a group of solar systems like ours. In short, there are millions and it makes your head spin! We are really tiny. Less than a grain of sand in the middle of the universe ... So, we look at the night sky with a different perspective: that of humility. To the pure enthusiasts (I've been thinking about you Francois-Xavier!) and to give you an idea of the power of the telescope, we could see Jupiter as a big ball with his face and his SAT. Here, I leave you dreaming of the infinite and the universe still expanding. Finally, I'll take another Pisco Sour. Cheers! The universe and its creator! Hips.
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