Caldera, a sleepless night on a leaning bed. And a gripe about Chilean time.

   I got into Caldera mid afternoon, and immediately found a hotel that was backpacker priced (a whole room as cheap as a dorm bed normally is). This isn't a strange thing, hotels here are typically cheap compared to hostels, but you go to hostels to meet other travellers and get ideas. I checked the room before I took it, but little did I know that the bed would try to roll me out all night, and they'd leave the outside light shining through my window all night long.
   I didn't sleep.
   But I did get to have a lovely scallop dinner. Caldera is known for scallops and I like scallops. These were tiny, GOOD, they weren't big enough to have been pumped with water, and they had roe on, double Good! Mmmm.
   I gave up trying to sleep at 6am. This is way early for Chilean standards, But I was in a coastal town a few blocks from the beach, so I thought I go see them bring the fish (and scallops) in. Huh, at 6.30 in the morning nothing was happening, at 7.30 Chilean fisherman are getting into their boats and heading out. I had to wait with the sealions.
   The Chilean schedule and me aren't very capable. Everybody who  knows me knows I'm a morning person.  Chileans clearly are not. Work starts a 10am, I expect they drag themselves from bed 15 minutes prior. Lunch goes from 2 until 4pm... a whole 2 hours where businesses close there doors, I like a 30 minute break at work, I can't imagine entertaining myself for 2 hours 5 days a week. Dinner? Well, it's clearly not when I'm wanting to eat and I expect I don't know what time dinner is because I've gone to bed before the Chileans have gone to dinner. oh well.. i don't mind eating on my own.
   Anyway, after watching the sealions in Caldera I went back to the hotel for breakfast (pretty much all hotels and hostels include breakfast here). Then caught a Collectivo Taxi to the next town, Bahia Ingles. I had it's seafront completely looked at and walked twice over and had left before a single shop had opened. And I had to walk halfway back to Caldera before another taxi came past to take me.
   I even had time to check out the cemetary before checking out and catching the next bus to Antofagasta.

The pretty fishing boats in Caldera. Sea Lions swin around here.

The Cathedral in Caldera has charm.

I found a patch of rocks with seaweed and plants to get a view of Bahia Ingles.

Everywhere in Chile there are shrines beside the road. here's one.

Caldera has Chile's first non-Catholic cemetary. It dates to the turn of the century and features graves from immigrants from all over the world.

Still in Caldera Cemetary.

Acoommodation: Terrasol $16 *

3 Huses to get from Huasco to Caldera $22

Scallop dinner with glass of wine, recommended quality restaurant $14