Expomarítima // Marine Expo

Despite the cloudy and cooler day here in Antofagasta, our family, Dr. Daniel, and his three girls went down to the main port to look around at the 3rd Annual Expomarítima (Marine Expo) down at the Antofagasta Port.

The Antofagasta Port is located around 10 blocks north of our apartment. We can see it from our patio. Most days there are large shipping vessels anchored just offshore from our building.

Going to the Marine Expo killed two birds with one stone. 1.) It was a great homeschooling field trip for the children. 2.) It turned out to be a great source of information (brochures, pamphlets) for Daniel and I to learn more about our city, the port and mining industry. We have a lot to learn.

There were around twenty different exhibits to experience. Some of them included The Antofagasta Water Company, The Chilean Navy, Air Force, Fire & Rescue Squad, The International Port, Escondida Mining, The Municipality of Antofagasta, ONEMI (Chilean's equivalent to FIMA), University of Antofagasta.

We all came home with hats, Antofagasta pens, balloons, fridge magnets, and candy. The kids had a blast and it definitely was an educational experience in disguise.

Some things we learned today on our field trip:

*What to do in case of a tsunami. What zone our apartment is in and where to meet during a tsunami drill. The kids received a game (see above photo) to teach them how to respond during natural disasters.

*The wide variety of sea animals that live in our region.

*Apparently, this winter is supposed to be a cold one in Chile (in general). Here in Antofagasta our normal winter high temps are 62 degrees F (17 C). Which, by the way, we don't mind at all!!

*Using sunblock is vital in the city of Antofagasta (averages 330 days of sun per year).

*What the copper mining process entails (Interactive processes HERE)

*The process of desalination of the water for use in Antofagasta (Interactive video HERE)