Monte Grande, Vicuña, and Lunch by Solar Power

Monte Grande Church

I showed you the exterior of the church at Monte Grande earlier in this series on Elqui Valley.  Here’s the interior:

Monte Grande’s church

Our arrival to Monte Grande happened to coincide with the noon rush hour:

Rush Hour in Monte Grande

We headed back to the west, but first we would stop for lunch.  The fascinating thing about this eatery was the method of cooking — solar ovens and solar broilers.  And, yes, lunch was delicious.  So much so that I forgot to photograph it.

Solar Oven

Solar Broiler

Baking Bread

After lunch it was off to Vicuña.  Vicuña was the largest town we visited in Elqui Valley.  It has a population of 25,000.  Here are some photos from this stop on our day trip into Chilean wine/pisco country:

Bauer Tower — Yes, it rhymes; No, I didn’t make up that name

A Case of Prickly Heat

Vicuña statuary