Over the past 7 years Camilo has proved to be one of our most popular guides so we think it’s time we introduced him properly.
Camilo is an expert in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, a beautiful area of high desert plains, salt flats, volcanoes, Andean peaks, lagoons and sand dunes.
As he himself puts it, “The Atacama is a unique place in the world, full of genuine Andean tradition, with spectacular landscapes, views and walks. Every spot in the desert and the mountains are something unique, difficult to describe with words. As long as you walk in San Pedro, you are discovering new things”.
Given that altitudes range from 2,000m to nearly 6,000m and the road infrastructure is very limited, it really isn’t the sort of place you would want to be without a guide to show you round. We think Camilo is the best of the bunch.
Incredibly calm, he exudes a relaxed authority which allows you to just hand over the reins of your holiday. As you dig a little deeper though, you might discover a bit more about how much he has done in his time up here. For instance, it was he who was chosen by the government to establish the Camino de Chile (a massively long footpath which will eventually link north to south of Chile) across the Atacama.
He also seems to know all of the many, and increasing, number of observatories up here. He also knows about the wildlife, the culture, the stars, I could go on. He’s a sort of outdoor renaissance man. My mother still goes a little dewy eyed at the mention of Camilo after her trip to Chile in 2009. She isn’t the only one by all accounts.
Camilo’s always up early as he doesn’t want to miss any minute of the day. Most days are spent touring the Atacama whether walking, mountain biking, riding horses or something more relaxed like visiting cultural sites near San Pedro.
For Camilo, the most important thing as a guide is to impart an appreciation of the culture and history of San Pedro de Atacama. He is also passionate about respect and care of the Atacama’s exotic and fragile ecology.
When I asked Camilo about what makes this area different form the rest of Chile he said:
“The Atacama is the driest desert in the world with a unique and fragile ecosystem combining amazing mountains, lakes, little Andean towns and wildlife. And unlike the south of Chile, the sun always appears!”
If you would like to be guided by Camilo then have a look at our Atacama Patagonia walking holiday to Chile, alternatively we offer an almost limitless range of tailor made holidays to Chile.
Cruises are not normally our ‘thing’ here at Pura.
The sort of holiday which separates visitors from the countries they visit just doesn’t chime with our basic ethos. Really what we don’t go near are big ship cruises, there are places where boat travel is the best way to go. The Galapagos Islands and Antarctica being the most obvious. We have recently added northern Patagonia to our select list in the shape of the Skorpios II.
Sparsely populated, remote, rainy but incredibly beautiful, Chile’s northern Patagonia is a special place. Running from the port city of Puerto Montt south, it takes in the rolling, rainy fishing islands of Chiloé; the picture-perfect volcanic cones of Hornopirén and Puntiagudo; the pristine temperate rainforests of Pumalin Park; the stunning fjords of Puyuhuapi and the fantastic glaciers of San Rafael.
There is a road, of sorts through this region – the Carretera Austral – but even that doesn’t allow you to get near some of the real gems in the way that Skorpios does.
The story of Skorpios is interesting. Owned and operated by a Chilean family with ship building interests in Puerto Montt, Skorpios is the only tourist vessel in Patagonia specifically designed for these waters. In reality what that means is that the hull is ice strengthened which means that you can get really close to glaciers where other boats have to keep their distance.
In Chile’s it is often the case that people are so wowed by the landscapes that they forget that there are people living there. One of the great things about Skorpios is that it also acts as a supply vessel for some of the communities along its route. The weekly arrival of the boat is therefore genuinely a cause of some considerable anticipation. Not least amongst the youngsters who act as informal tour guides for visitors.
The customers of Skorpios are very mixed, primarily South American but most of the time you will have a veritable United Nations on board. This means that in and of itself, the cruise is a cultural experience – informal, lively, fun and great food.
Being a weekly journey, Skorpios is able to restock regularly as she sails. There is no pre-portioned frozen food on this ship. The food you are served is made on board, from scratch.
Oh, and did I mention that it takes you through some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet?
To find out more about a journey on board Skorpios or our Chile holidays more generally please call us on 01273 676 712.
The massive new observatory being built in Chile's Atacama Desert
I loved this story on the BBC website about the new Alma observatory being constructed high above the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Basically it’s a series of large dishes which will apparently work together to effectively create one massive dish – equivalent to a dish some 15km wide.
“What Alma will do is zoom in on the interesting areas and make ultra-high-resolution images that show not just a blob where the galaxies or the molecules are, but resolves in very, very fine detail the structure of those objects, whether it’s the gas discs forming around stars or the collisions between galaxies at [great distance].”
This stuff always amazes me. The science behind the construction is mind-boggling let alone the science behind interpreting what the telescope will see.
“Alma will also go after events in the very early Universe, in particular the so-called “Epoch of Re-ionisation”.
The idea of a massive telescope zooming back through time and space to have a look at events which took place at the dawn of time is just bonkers to me.
Presumably it’s all to do with the lessening acceleration of expansion of the universe which allows us to catch up with some of the early matter?
Anyone know how this stuff actually works? Post your theses here!
Anyone want to go on holiday to Chile? Call us on 01273 676 712.