On the way to Iquique we drove through Tocopilla (the city hardest hit by the earthquake). It is a small poor town on the coast, and the damage suffered there was extensive. As we drove through the north side of town, more often than not the homes had red spray paint on them, the mark that it was entirely destroyed and uninhabitable. I really wanted to take pictures of the destruction, but there were so many people outside that I just couldn't. If my heart was breaking from what I was seeing, I can't even imagine the pain they have been through. Here are some pictures of a few of the government-provided 'houses' (not close-ups... again, didn't want to offend anybody). They are 1 room little wooden shacks... no running water. There is community water. And there were hundreds of these shelters. I can't even imagine.
Iquique has a great oceanfront. Not only is the sand amazingly fine (by the way... anybody have any tricks on getting amazingly fine sand out of swimming suits? Everything looks dirty now), but everything is CLEAN! Plus there is a free zoo with Cayman (little alligators), fish and turtles, beautiful ponds, a big park, walking trails, battery-powered 'cars', and a seal show (it was closed though... note to self, next time be sure to visit Thurs-Sun).
The hotel we usually stay at was booked, so unfortunately our beds were a bit small. We had planned on 3 per bed (each mother w/her children, plus Jinnie in a crib), but were afraid that if you weren't in the middle you'd end up on the floor in the night, so we pushed the beds together & the girls just loved it! Here is a picture I captured one night (Ruth fell asleep at the bottom for a bit).
On the way to Iquique we drove through Tocopilla (the city hardest hit by the earthquake). It is a small poor town on the coast, and the damage suffered there was extensive. As we drove through the north side of town, more often than not the homes had red spray paint on them, the mark that it was entirely destroyed and uninhabitable. I really wanted to take pictures of the destruction, but there were so many people outside that I just couldn't. If my heart was breaking from what I was seeing, I can't even imagine the pain they have been through. Here are some pictures of a few of the government-provided 'houses' (not close-ups... again, didn't want to offend anybody). They are 1 room little wooden shacks... no running water. There is community water. And there were hundreds of these shelters. I can't even imagine.
Iquique has a great oceanfront. Not only is the sand amazingly fine (by the way... anybody have any tricks on getting amazingly fine sand out of swimming suits? Everything looks dirty now), but everything is CLEAN! Plus there is a free zoo with Cayman (little alligators), fish and turtles, beautiful ponds, a big park, walking trails, battery-powered 'cars', and a seal show (it was closed though... note to self, next time be sure to visit Thurs-Sun).
The hotel we usually stay at was booked, so unfortunately our beds were a bit small. We had planned on 3 per bed (each mother w/her children, plus Jinnie in a crib), but were afraid that if you weren't in the middle you'd end up on the floor in the night, so we pushed the beds together & the girls just loved it! Here is a picture I captured one night (Ruth fell asleep at the bottom for a bit).
2 comments:
Oh man, loving these posts, looks like so much fun, maybe not the bed sharing, but you made it work! ;)
thanks for finally posting pictures of the trip, it was worth the wait. looks like so much fuN!! how did you manage without dave! you are amazing :)
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