Salitrera Santa Laura

Next stop on our Sunday tour was the abandoned salt mine Santa Laura. It is an old ghost town just outside Iquique in the middle of the driest desert in the world. The people lived there only because they mined salt. When technology improved, the mines were no longer needed and the people no longer had jobs, so they moved from the town because who wants to live in a desert? It was pretty cool to see the abandoned buildings and structures that were still standing and try to imagine what it would have been like to live there during that time. There is another ghost town just like it right down the road called Humberstone (which is even better preserved), but it was closed when we got there so we'll have to try again a different day.

The only part left of the school building...the steps.