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Stage 9 - Monday 12 January 2009 | La Serena > Copiapo

  • Connection  88 km
  • Special 449 km

Travel diary

Judith Tomaselli, a motor-sports journalist, has traveled throughout this last year through the regions visited by the Dakar. Check out the official site for here impressions and photos.

  • /PHOTOS/DAK/2009/carnetderoute/900-01.jpg

    Between La Serena and Copiapo, many tracks border the plentiful ocean, brimming with delicious shellfish, urchins and fish…

  • Caletas

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    In the caletas (creeks), the boats dance to the rhythm of the waves and the fishermen bring ashore nets bulging with fish or shellfish under the envious gaze of the pelicans.

    Caletas

  • Camanchaca

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    The morning mist on the Pacific Ocean and the Camanchaca – condensation which turns into a thick fog – provides the water necessary for the plants and flowers that color the ground like an artist’s canvas.

    Camanchaca

  • Copiapo and its surrounding valleys

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    Copiapo and its surrounding valleys is a place where grapes are grown for dessert grapes or to make the famous Pisco, which is distilled in aluminum vats.

    Copiapo and its surrounding valleys

  • Aluminum vats

    /PHOTOS/DAK/2009/carnetderoute/900-05.jpg

    Copiapo and its surrounding valleys is a place where grapes are grown for dessert grapes or to make the famous Pisco, which is distilled in aluminum vats.

    Aluminum vats

  • The Atacama Desert

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    The competitors who achieve the feat of reaching Copiapo, discovering the Atacama Desert and resting at the Dakar bivouac will not be ready to forget this experience.

    The Atacama Desert

  • The Melanoso range

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    Sand dunes at more than 2,200 meters in altitude on the Melanoso plateau with shimmering colors, salt flats, gold mines and copper mines… The Atacama Desert reserves plenty of surprises for those who in its confines dare to tred.

Copiapo

A mixture of the Sahara, the Wadi Rum and the Gobi desert, nestled between the Pacific and the Andes, the Atacama Desert is the driest in the world. In addition to the beauty of its landscapes, the height of its dunes and the air of liberty that reigns supreme, it is bordered by a chain of volcanoes that are almost 6,000 meters high.

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