Day 20 – Sunday, February 15, 2026

So I spent this Sunday in Antofagosta - not that I necessarily wanted to be idle, but I used the day to first of all take a rest, then in the AF-ternoon I ventured into the city for the second time. BTW, the breakfast at my hotel was quite good - or at least better than expected.

Antofagasta, one if the largest cities in Chile, is dramatically positioned between the Pacific and the vasst Atacama Desert Its origins trace back to the 19th century, when it grew rapidly as a mining town initially for nitrate, later copper and lithium. Despite its industrial roots, Antofagasta developed into a modern urban center with universities, cultural institutions, and a busy port. Antofagasta contributes to Chile’s mining economy while also evolving into a more diversified and livable city. Its blend of harsh desert surroundings, industrial heritage, and coastal beauty gives it a unique character.

I got on a bus to reach downtown, it stopped right in front of my hotel (though as far as I can tell, they can be hailed from pretty much anywhere). On one of these lines, the wife of thr driver was counting the ticket fare (a ride costs €0.60), while her son was loitering around, with the daughter sleeping peaxefully on the floor beside her feet.

BusFamily

The father is the driver, his wife is the ticket collector, the boy is loitering around - see the feet of the daughter sleeping on the floor

There is always sone sort of on-board entertainment - ice-cream, chips, soft-drink vendors, musicians, people asking for money - all board the small buses and loudly present their case. Not a boring moment.

The beach front is rocky and the few artificial sand beaches are crowded - so I did not take a dip..

AF-1

Rocky beach front

There are malls, historic, colonial-style buildings and a large park - which on this Sunday AF-ternoon was completely deserted. Do bear in mind, we are in midst of a large desert, still, there are Oleanders, palm trees and (what I believe) are Norfolk Island pines. How do they grow here?

AF-8

Colonial buildings, green...

AF-7

...red

AF-2

A wonderful park

AF-4

There seems to be plenty of water to feed these plants

At the south end of town was a massive fortress-like ruins, with the fancy name of Las Ruinas de Huanchac - I thought I was seeing some historic structure from 18th century, of a civilization called the Huanchacas (though it did not fit my knowledge of history). I was humbled to find out that these were 100-year old remains of a silver mine. There was an interactive museum (mostly in Spanish only), where I learnt that they used the desert area around AntAF-agosta to test the Mars rover in the late Nineties.

AF-11