"I thought the small village of Parinacota, in the Lauca National Park, was delightful, and felt quite frustrated that we only stopped here a short while.
For a lot of the journey the mountains were barren and a bit drab, but as we climbed upto about 10,000' and entered the park, snow-capped volcanoes started to appear, followed by green valleys with herds of grazing llamas and alpacas. It was all very scenic and I thought most beautiful. Before we left the park we stopped at a small road-side cafe for a pre-arranged meal. The meal, a kind of local stew, tasted good. Our return was by an old road taking us down a steep pass through the mountains, before joining the main road again. Although it was impressive, it all seemed a bit of an anti-climax after the scenery in the park.
The tour, that had lasted about 11 hours, had been a most enjoyable and spectacular trip, even if I had found it a bit frustrating at times not having more time to paint. But at £10 I thought it had been good value for money.
The Hotel Madrid-Youth hostel where I was staying, I found to be a friendly and easy going place. A small hotel that gave a good reduction for YH members, it had rooms on two floors built round a central courtyard where one could sit and meet other guests, and unlike the YH I stayed in at Antofagasta, it was much more like a hostel with a helpful owner. My room cost £2.20 a night.
One night I was kept awake for hours by a drunk form 2 rooms away constantly walking past my room, in what sounded like hobnail boots. At about 3AM, while half asleep, I heard it again, when he reached the top of the stairs I heard a loud scream, followed by a crash, then silence. I thought I was just having a wishful dream, but later that day when I saw another guest, I was told someone had had to be taken to hospital.
I spent the rest of my last full day taking it easy around the town and was able to round off my last night in Chile by joining two Swiss girls from the hostel for a good meal in a nearby restaurant. Although my first impression of Arica was that it was a rather drab town I found I was growing to quite like the place." - MH
Parinacota, a hamlet in Putre (A), 1990
All items are produced from original paintings by Martyn Hanks.
Prints: Size is A4 (8.27" x 11.69"/210 x 297mm). Printed onto high quality 245gsm fine art watercolour paper to give the print an authentic look and feel. Supplied in a textured off white mount size 12" x 16" (305 x 406mm), backed and sealed in a clear cellophane wrap and delivered in a protective carton to ensure it reaches you in perfect condition.
Cards: Size 7" X 5"/178 x 127mm. Packaged in a clear cellophane wrap with a top quality 150gsm self-seal white envelope.