Our route was from Valparaiso through Chile’s north to Peru. Thing is, this is not the easiest trip since Chile is, as is well known, a very skinny, and very long country from south to north. And since all that was available to us was the bus, we really did come to appreciate just how long this country is.
バルパライソからは、ペルーに向けて北上するのみ。でも、ご存じのとおりチリは南北方向に長細い国。国境までの道のりは、バスに限っているため、チリ国土のほそ長さを体感する移動となった。
First stop was the town of La Serena, 7 hours from Valparaiso. For those interested (and who isn’t?), La Serena is Chile’s third oldest city, and, as such, old, beautiful architecture, including a stone church in the centre, abound, giving the town a distinctive, historical atmosphere. That’s not all, either. The town also boasts a real Japanese garden, “Jardin del Corazon” (garden of the heart). For us, this was particularly attractive, allowing us to go back home, if just for a few moments. In addition, the image of so many Chilean elderly women eagerly taking as many pictures as possible of the Japanese carp filling the surrounding pond is one that will stay with us. Who woulda thunk that Japanese gardens would be so popular here?
まず向かったのが、バルパライソからバスで約7時間のラ・セレナ。チリでは３番目に古い街で、中心部には石造りの古い教会や建物が並び、なかなか歴史的な雰囲気を感じられた。この街に、なぜか本格的な日本庭園「心の庭」（Jardin del Corazon）があり、入場して一時の帰国気分を味わった。チリ人のおばさまたちが、テンションあがりまくりで池の鯉の写真を撮っていたのが印象的だった。日本庭園が、この国でもこんなんに人気があるなんてなんか凄い。
Le Serena/ラ・セレナ
Sailor suits; not just a Japanese thing/日本の高校の制服に似てる
Japanese garden…in La Serena…Chile/チリでは鯉は珍しいらしい
After one night in La Serena, we hopped on a night bus for the 12-hour journey farther north to the desert metropolis of Antofagasta. Indeed, this is Chile’s most populous northern city. Hugging the Pacific coast, the city has a resort feel with numerous, gleaming new high-rise condos lining the seaside, and all manner of well outfitted joggers and dog walkers doing their thing along the boardwalk. In the centre is a large, well appointed public square, adorned by a beautiful church, much like as in other Chilean towns and cities. And, this being a very arid climate, the backdrop is the surrounding sand-coloured mountain range that hems the town into the sea. It should be said here, though, that all is not resort; a large portion of the town consists of the many poorer residences clustered uncomfortably on the sides of these mountains. Away from the beaches, condos, McDonald’s, and sparkling convenience stores, this is a different world. The vast chasm between rich and poor here in Chile is as if writ large here. Still, not a bad place to make a pit stop.
ラ・セレナに1泊し、次に夜行バスで約12時間かけてさらに北のアントファガスタへ。アントファガスタは、チリ北部では最大の街。太平洋沿いのリゾート地でもあり、海岸には新築高層マンションが立ち並んでいて、裕福層らしき人達が海岸沿いでジョギングや犬の散歩にいそしんでいる。他のチリの地方都市と同様、街の中心にはきれいな教会と広場がある。ただ、乾燥地帯にあるため、内陸部には海岸と並行して砂色の山が並んでいる。そして、その斜面には粗末な住宅がくっつくように密集している。海岸沿いの住宅、ビーチ、マクドナルド、綺麗なコンビニなどという事情とは別世界。チリ社会の貧富の差の大きさを絵に描いたような街だった。私たちにとっては、北上中の中継地としてちょうどいい街でした。
Town centre, Antofagasta/アントファガスタの中心
Spiffy Antofagasta/スマートなアントファガスタ
The other Antofagasta/アントファガスタの別の顔
19th Century Antofagasta/19世紀のアントファガスタ
From Antofagasta it was another bus trip (7 hours) farther north to the coastal town of Iquique (pronounced “ee-kee-ke”), with a moonscape-like desert expanse on the right, and the deep-blue waters of the Pacific on the left for scenery. Iquique is another resort town with not a few eye-catching beachside condos that would not be out of place in Miami Beach. At the same time, the town centre, with all of its old, colourful buildings has an air of the American south about it.
アントファガスタからバスで7時間、右側に砂漠の大地、左側に紺碧の太平洋を見ながら北上し、イキケに到着。ここも海沿いにあるリゾート地で、海岸沿いの高層マンションが目を引く。街の中心にある広場の周辺は、どこかアメリカ西部を思わせる雰囲気があった。のんびりした雰囲気の街で、建物がとてもカラフルだった。
Iquique: one of Chile’s many resort towns/イキケ。リゾート地
Iquique’s colourful downtown/カラフルなイキケ
All this way, and we still weren’t there: it was another 4 hours by bus across the desert until the northern most town of Arica, just shy of the Peru border. Don’t know if it was being so close to the border, but the bus terminal lived up to its reputation as having a very unsavoury and unsafe feel about it. Perhaps it was fitting then that this was also the first place in Chile that we encountered pushy touts. And while we were not a little weary from our constant travel, as Arica offers next to nothing for the traveler, we decided to purchase tickets for an early bus the next day bound for Peru, finally.
まだまだ北上。内陸の砂漠の中を4時間ひた走り、チリ最後の街、アリカに到着。やっと国境の街に着いた。アリカのバスターミナルは犯罪多発地帯らしく、気が引き締まる。チリではほとんどお目にかからなかった客引きも多い。連日の移動で疲れていたけれど、特に何もないアリカに長居は無用。翌日の早朝発のペルー行きバスチケットを購入し、ぺルーの通貨ソルも手に入れ、アリカに一泊。翌日はやっとペルーに入国だ。
Our view of Arica/アリカで見た景色
With spaghetti like Chile done, from Puerto Natales in the south to Arica in the north, next was the border and on to Puno, Peru.
南はプエルト・ナタレスから北はアリカまで、本当に地図の通り長かったチリ。次は国境を越えて、ぺルーのプーノへ。