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Iquique to Arica  

August 27 | My GPS Route Data On the way north to Arica I took a detour to Pisagua, first famous as a landing site for Spanish conquistadores, then a key port for mining industry, then a prison and death camp under Pinochet. A hundred years ago this was a bustling town of several thousand that hosted touring opera companies from Milan and stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. Today, however, only about 150 residents remain and the buildings are largely deserted and decaying.   The descent from the Panamericana at 3,500 feet down to the water’s edge is a perilous ride […]

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