A long flight took us from London to Santiago in Chile. After a side trip to Easter Island (the first time we had driven on the right hand side of the road by ourselves!), we spent nearly 2 months exploring this long thin country. We saw the eclipse described below in the north.
A single carriage train took us to the highlands of Bolivia (6 weeks); another train took us to the fascinating Peru (2 months).
In Ecuador (6 weeks), half way through the trip, we took a luxory tour of the Galapagos Islands. Colombia was 2 months of few tourists and unique sites.
A boat took us to Panama (3 weeks). We then travelled overland though Central America: Cost Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador (where we were interviewed on local TV), Guatemala, Belize and finally Mexico. Our return flight was from Mexico City back to London.
Our group consisted of John (a school friend), a Spanish-speaking American called Martin, Talaat and myself. We had met Martin in the southern Lake District of Chile.
Arica itself was a dull port town. We used it as a base as eclipse chasers from around the world descended on this humble border town. A church designed by Eiffel (yes the very same) and a German-built railway station were all there was to see. We met two Slovak astronomers sent by their country to observe the eclipse. One American woman would not be watching. She was married to a Chilean and was pregnant. Her husband's family thought it would be bad for the unborn baby.
All the newcomers wanted to know where I had bought my t-shirts from. I took so many people to the shop that I was given some for free by the grateful shopkeeper.
Outside Arica there was flat, featureless desert. On our first day's drive we missed our turning and nearly ended up in Peru. The road to Lauca followed the beautiful Lluta Valley. Along the valley walls were glyphs of pre-Columbian llama trains. This fertile valley has long been a trading route from the Bolivian altiplano. There were many colourful birds. The 17th Century church of San Geronimo in the village of Poconchile was one of the oldest in Chile. Brightly costumed Aymara people were preparing for the forthcoming Festival of the Dead which was due on the day after the eclipse.
The village of Putre was exactly on the centre line and 5000 visitors were expected for the eclipse. It was not a picturesque place and was beginning to look a bit too commercialised for our liking. Dormitory beds in the local school were costing $25 per person per night.
On the altiplano itself we saw llareta. This is a bright green plant that resembles moss and is hard to the touch. It is used as a fuel. There were many herds of vicuña. These are wild, deer-like relations to llamas. They grazed on grass-like pastures called bofidals. These are found in swampy ground watered by streams. Another inhabitant was the vizcacha. These unusual animals were small and rabbit-like with bushy tails and huge whiskers. They lived in the spaces between large rocks above 4000m and hopped around like kangaroos. Beautiful black and white Andean Gulls soared overhead in the thin cool air, occasionally hovering over one spot.
The Lagunas de Cotacotani had populations of giant coots and a few flamingos. The waters here reflected the twin conical volcanic peaks of Parinacota (6330m) and Pomerane (6252m).
People were heading to Putre in increasing numbers. Many broke their journey at the truck stop. We spent the day chatting to everyone who had come for the eclipse: a group of Chilean Hell's Angels, an Italian sailor selling pendants made of mylar filter for viewing the eclipse, and a pair of Americans who had dropped out and were living in Colombia. A few kilometres away an artist had set up a railway carriage on the side of the road. He had painted and furnished it and was making good money running it as a pension. The local television station was there interviewing the eccentric owner. They talked to me when they found out I had already seen three eclipses.
That night I slept well. At one point I wandered outside for a call of nature and saw a clear sky studded with stars. They were not the only lights, however. Along the main road was a continuous stream of car headlights as people were making their way to Putre. I was glad we were staying in this quieter village.
At 8:17 the Moon touched the Sun: first contact.
Using filters we could see the Sun had a bite missing from it. Below us we could hear murmurs of excitement from the area around the truck stop. Little changed as more of the Sun disappeared. By 9:00 we began to notice that the landscape was taking on a golden tinge as only the edge of the sun remained. However little of the Sun remained uneclipsed, it was still not possible to look at it with the naked eye. We still needed our filters.
The corona during totality (Long Exposure). |
The corona during totality (Short Exposure). |
The shadow was an oval shape 286km long and 152km wide. We could see this by looking around. The horizon was pitch black in the East and West. In the North and South there was a red twilight glow. Near the Sun were two planets, easily visible. Venus was slightly above and bright while Jupiter was below and fainter. All was still, cool and quiet. There was not a sound from the people below. However much they had read or had been told about the eclipse; nothing had prepared them for the strange reality. Even the insects had stopped chirping. At 9:21 a red flame near the surface of the Sun could be made out, a prominence. It had been covered by the Moon but was now being revealed as the Moon prepared to move away from the Sun. Almost immediately, the first beam of sunlight appeared shining through a valley on the edge of the Moon. This is the famous diamond ring, so called because it resembles a point of light surrounded by a ring of fading corona. Within seconds, the total phase was over - it was no longer possible to look. The landscape returned to normal. Car horns blared their excitement. It was over.
Before coming to Chile, the Moon's shadow had already crossed Peru. It quickly left Chile and passed through the deserted altiplano of Bolivia, and across South America. We would eventually follow but much more slowly ...
Written by Kryss Katsiavriades (© 1994, 1997, 2009)
Photographs:
Altiplano views (with shadow) by Talaat Qureshi.
Photo captioned "View of the totally eclipsed sun" bought in Cuzco, Peru.
All other photos including totally eclipsed Sun by Kryss Katsiavriades.
