We did checkout of Hotel Esmeralda after joining the owner's large family for breakfast, stopped for a quick shop at Supermercado Santa Isabel for essentials - Vino + Cerveza - then back on Ruta 5 with some spectacular scenery en route to Taltal 480km al Nord.
Formerly a boom town for Potassium Nitrate mining and home to the British owned 'Taltal Railway Company', Taltal is now a pretty coastal port with many buildings dating back to its 1880s heydays.
We opted for a thatched Cabana at Caleta Hueso on the shore of a lovely bay just north of town!
Amanda says it's still too cold for tenting!!
