Pan de Azucar...¿Was it all a dream?

We had read in the holy text of travelling (the lonely planet) of a National Park in the North of Chile, called Pan de Azúcar (literally translates as 'Sugarloaf'), famous for white sandy beaches, llamas, mountain slopes, an island inhabited by penguins, and its extensive Cactarium. Further googling told us (mainly through travel blogs) of people that had been and camped on the beaches, and our hearts were set on it. There was one large problem though - there does not seem to be any useful information or detailed accounts of the Park anywhere - and any we did find turned out to be wrong anyway. So just incase anyone stumbles upon this wanting to find some, I'll make this post as informative as possible! So the information in the lonely planet says it is easy to get to the park from the small mining city of Chañaral, as a bus runs from there to the park. The bus, I can confirm, was not running. We arrived in Chañaral early in the morning as we had forseen these problems. The turbus office denied knowledge of the Park or how to get there, but eventually told us the other bus station (Pullmans) might be able to help. We went to the Pullman terminal, and they told us the bus runs only in January, but there is a guy with a van who might be able to give us a lift in two hours. With no other lead, we decided to wait for the man with the van, who called another lady, who eventually came and gave us a lift. There were three of us, as we'd met Danny from Spain (lucky really, as he was serving as or translator!) and we paid $4000 pesos each (but it seems the standard fare is $12000, so the more of you are the cheaper it should be). This appeared to be the best rate, as we later met people that had been quoted $26000 from their Chañaral hostels! 

When we arrived at the Park we were dropped off by a smattering of rather battered looking buildings. One was a cafe which appeared to be open, so we went to sit and have a Coffee before continuting. Here, Dave asked for a cup of tea with milk, which is unusual anywhere outside of the UK. When it came, the Cafe owner (and apparently Don of Pan de Azúcar it turns out) had made hot milk, and put a tea bag in it. One of the most vile tea variations I have come across so far! Danny got chatting to Elsa, and she said we could camp on her beach for just $3000 pesos pppn. Now as we had read in the lonely planet of prices from $3500, we accepted. She then told us that if anyone came to ask us what we were doing while we were setting up or camping, we were to ignore them and just say 'We're Elsa's!' - The first sign of of the ramshackle running of the place!

We put up our tent and all we could talk about was how amazing the view was. We were the only 3 people on the whole of the white beach, the sun was beating down on us, and we were surrounded by magnificent scenery of the desert, the mountains and the ocean. It was blissful. As we had finished and were beginning to unpack, a couple appeared on the horizon. They came over (English, Woo!) and we pointed them in the direction of Elsa in the hope of being neighbours. While they were away we went about setting up our camping stove (we bought a camping stove, gas, a bag of porridge, a bag of rice and a saucepan). This is because we panicked after hearing no news of cafes, supermarkets, fires or food at Pan de Azúcar - and a good thing it was too!  There was one restaurant, which was expensive, a supermarket which wouldn't let anyone in and after demanding you told them exactly what you wanted refused to sell you it anyway; and Elsa's hub of racketeering.  After having their own interesting experience (A rival campsite owner told them that if they camped at Elsa's they would regret it as there are wild dogs and no water...), the smiling faces of Dave and Kerryn returned, and they set up camp next to us.

That afternoon, the five of us set off on a mission to find llamas. It was unsuccessful, but we did see some truly awesome scenes, a handful of scraggly and slightly green tinged foxes, and a couple of pretty nifty lizards. The views were stunning, and the terrain mainly rocky but with patches of dried cracked clay. We also found the famed Cactarium of Pan de Azucar; with over 20 species of cactii. We returned to camp weary and hungry. We cooked a glorified pot noddle (spaghetti with a tomato soup sauce, half an onion procured by Danny from Elsa's very own kitchen, and a tin of peas) and all sat around eating it out of plastic cups. It turned out our new companions are travelling a very similar route to us, but in reverse and we were able to swap stories, hints and tips (albeit them a lot more than us, as they have been travelling for 4 months already!). The more we talked the more we realised we had in common, and looked forward to spending the coming days together. 

After a pretty sketchy night, being spooked by every gust of wind and rustle in the dark, we awoke to find Danny and all of his things had disappeared. Luckily Dave (who I will continue to call Gilbsy to avoid confusion - not Horts) squashed our speculation that Elsa had did away with him in the night by reassuring us he had seen him earlier, and he was heading back to civilisation. The four of us had a hearty breakfast of porridge, bread and a sticky sweet peachy jam, and decided to continue with our mission of the day before, and find some llamas. We passed so many signs for llamas, but again were unsuccessful in seeing any (we later found out the wild dogs of Pan de Azucar had been attacking the llamas and they had probably moved to a different part of the Park). We ended up on the trek to the Mirador (viewpoint). We climbed and walked for hours, and were beginning to feel exhausted, cheated by the lack of llamas, and slightly disheartened by the lack of obvious trail. But when we reached the top, everyone was speachless. The view stretched for miles, of mountain, desert, ocean and island, uterly untouched and unspoilt by humans. We sat at the top for an hour or so, using the binoculars provided to us by Dave's Dad (thank you so much!) to get a better look at the surrounding landscape and wildlife. 

Upon our descent, we decided we definitely deserved a cold beer, and that our evening would be improved by a bottle of wine, so we went to the woman holding us in her palm, Elsa, to see what could be done. She also had given us the incorrect key for the shower on the previous day, so we returned that too, asking for the right key as we were all starting to look a little...dusty. She reluctantly, after a lot of stalling, unlocked the shower for us, and informed us we needed to ask her every time we wanted one (presumabley so she could charge us). She also provided us with a 2l bottle of red from her very own supply (complete with a glass having been drank from it), after some great haggling from Kerryn for a decent price. That evening was filled with wine, the exchanging of all known card names and the excellent name game, and when darkness fell some breathtaking star watching. They told us of a company called SpaceObs in the Atacama desert which are known for doing knee weakeningly beautiful tours (a company also recommended to us by Jess and Hector). 

The next day was overcast, and none of us really fancied another long trek, so we decided to take it easy, and see if we could somehow organise a boat trip to see the penguins. The crumbling ancient tourist boards in the centre told of boat trips for $5000 pesos each. We asked at the restaurant how to go about booking a tour, and they pointed us in the direction of...Elsa. We went to Elsa who was having a drink, or probably more likely a few drinks towards wasted, with a man who called himself Captain Stiff. Priceless. He told us the price for a boat trip was $50,000, and if we managed to get 10 people we could pay $5000 each. Looking around the silent, desolate town it was hard to imagine us finding ten people. But just as we had given up hope, a campervan pulled up and four men jumped out yielding a bottle of wine. We approached them and asked if they would be interested in joining us for the tour in a couple of hours, and they agreed. An english and an American woman sitting in the cafe also said they'd be happy to go; so we all agreed to meet at 3pm, pay $5000 each and see us some penguins. Our excitement was short lived however, as by 3pm the Chiliean Caravanners had drank too much wine and disappeared to sleep it off. The 6 of us decided to cut our losses and pay the extra, keen to see the penguins. The boat trip turned out to be absolutely fantastic, and Captain Stiff was an excellent guide. He took us to a cove filled with Giant Peruvian Penguins, and then pointed out a marine otter swimming on its back through the ocean. We stopped by an island covered in hundreds of tiny penguins, hopping from rock to rock and waddling around, and then round to rocks where South American Sea lions were happy to jump off the rocks and pose for us.

The next day we spent on Playa Blanca, the only four people on a white sandy beach - though we did see a cheeky fox running across the sand - a very surreal image! The beaches at the Park have signs warning you that to bathe in the sea is not allowed, and we deduced that it was because of the quantity of local coppermines (the sea in chañaral is contaminated because of this). After debating the pros and cons of perhaps growing an extra arm and the benefits of humans with gils, we decided it was totally worth risking, and ventured in. We later found out (from Elsa) that the sea is actually not toxic, and the reason you can't swim in it is due to the strong current. We returned to camp to find our bag of food supplies, which had been cleverly attached to the roof of our camp space, had been ravaged by wild dogs, who had eaten most of our food. We spent our evening playing cards from a bizarre card game book, the name game, swapping details and planning to meet up again in Bolivia or Peru (which we are very excited about!). The next morning, Gilbsy and K-Wottz went on their way to La Serena, leaving Dave and I to fend off Elsa and the wild dogs ourselves. 

That morning we awoke to find our friends had left us their card game book, in the hope of us spreading wide the tales of classic games such as 'Old Maid'. After a very sorry-for-ourselves portion of porridge (I have discovered since travelling that Dave finds it very hard when we have to part ways with the awesome people we meet, an unfortunate hazard of the dream lifestyle) we went to the beach, and spent the day feeling like the luckiest people alive on a private beach. That evening we went to bed just as it got dark to avoid being spooked by any lurking shadows or laughing men. On our final day, we packed everything away and prepared to leave. We decided the only option really was to hitchhike our way back to Chanaral. We embarked on the 38km walk up and down the mountains, loaded with our bags. After an 45 of walking, running dangerously low on water, a car actually past us, ignoring our thumbs and ´CHANARAL, ¡POR FAVOR!' sign. A further half an hour on, a truck appeared on the horizon. It stopped for us, and 5 burly Chilean men jumped out. They strapped our bags on to the back of their truck, and we all squeezed in the back. They took us to Chanaral, where we waited for our night bus to Atacama.

To sum up; Pan de Azucar is one of the most beautiful, untouched and serene places I have ever been lucky enough to visit. The thrill of sleeping on a beach, falling asleep to the sound of the sea crashing around, and watching the sunset turn in to the blackest night, peppered with some of the clearest stars I have ever seen will be tough to beat. Gilbsy and K-Wottz were excellent company, and we know we will see them again, whatever country it may be in. The way in which the Park is run is part of its character. All that you need is a sense of humour and a sense for adventure (and all the food/cooking supplies!) and you can have an unforgettable time - as we certainly did. It is easy to imagine that in 20 years or so it will be full of real tourist hype, run smoothly and with real trails set out across the landscape - and we are so lucky to have seen it before it becomes that.