On the road again from La Serena, up the trusted Ruta 5 towards Atacama. We were now really in the desert…nothing for kms around, so desolate and a little intimidating at times, but so nice to have the space of the open road. All the mountains surrounding, with no signs of civilisation except tiny villages every few hours, a lot made of mud and sticks. I find it so incredible that these places exist in the same world as ours – I always wonder what the story of the people who live in these places are… There are also bus stops in very random places…
We also came across a lot of shrines on the roads, testament to the amount of people who have crashed and lost lives. Every few kms, a memorial, always with jesus, flags, flowers and decoration. Sometimes have the name spelt out in stones or a photograph. I can understand why people lose control here driving, especially in the dark – the road can clearly be super dangerous.
