JohnAkai
11/20/2016 20:05 EST
Chronic illness be damned! I just booked a 3-week stargazing / exploratory vacation to Chile, 15MAR17 to 05APR17. This is a bucket list item - to view and to study stars only visible from the southern hemisphere. I will also be studying the possibility of moving to and living in Chile for the next 4 years. Yes, I am retired. As a VA patient, I just found out that my healthcare will be paid for by the VA! Since I am bilingual, I plan to seek employment as an interpreter at hospitals and hotels. Creds: USAF medic, BS & MBA. I taught business classes at a community college and am not really interested in teaching ESL...I like the info posted here about Iquique...ANYWAY, after extensive research, I have decided to stay away from San Pedro de Atacama and seek a cheaper, less remote (hospital at hand), and less crowded site. Upfront costs of $4,000 include air, lodging and car rental (mostly through Expedia) .Twice the number of days at half the cost of package astro tours. Since I speak fluent Spanish, I decided to find places catering mostly to Chileans. From 22MAR17 to 02APR17, I will be staying in the Elqui Valley at Centro Astronomico Alfa Aldea, Vicuna, Chile. This B&B, situated within a vineyard, offers 6 optical telescopes and 1 radio telescope. Star Talks ($10 fee) are offered, and are open to the general public. The pro telescope at Cerro Tololo (day-only tours) is directly south of this B&B (1 hr., 47 km. distant - yes, lots of mountains). During the prior 6 days, I will be staying on the beach at the coastal town of La Serena (1 hour, 64km distant). I will spend the last 3 days exploring south of Santiago in the San Fernando area. I've rented a Peugeot 208 GT from 20MAR17 to 05APR17. The optical equipment I plan to take includes: Takahashi FS60C with C2X module; TV 3-6 Zoom; 9, 12.5 and 18 Orthos; and a 32 Plossl. Filters: Thousand Oaks Solar, Celestron Moon 15, 30, & OIII, and Farpoint UHC. Zeikos Tripod, small alt-az mount and the Baader 4-EP turret with Barlow lens. I might buy and take the Tak FS76 objective upgrade unit. If anyone is interested in joining me, please PM me. The best observing dates (no moon) are from 25MAR - 30MAR. Here is wishing for Clear & Steady Southern Skies. Am I excited - or what!!
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