Other Planets on Earth

In April of 1997, Dory and I went to the Province of Salta to ride on “El Tren a las Nubes.” The construction of this particular rail line, officially designated Ramal (Track) C-14, was started in 1920 and was designed and built under the leadership of an American named Richard Maury. It suffered all kinds of stops and starts, mainly caused by the political upheavals of the 30’s and 40’s, and was finally finished in 1949 during the first presidency of Juan Perón. The original feasibility study which was started back in 1890, was to build a railroad that would link up the Atlantic in the south of Brazil with Pacific in the north of Chile. The main challenge was to make it over Los Andes which would require laying track at an altitude of 14,000 ft. The transcontinental railway was never completed because of the political and institutional turbulence that reigned throughout South America in the early part of the 20th Century. Nevertheless, the city of Salta, the capital of the province of the same name, was indeed connected to the Pacific port of Antofagasta, in Chile. The tour train ride takes all day covering over 220 kms. up to a place called Polvorillo, and then back. The city of Salta is at 4300 ft., and the turnaround point up on la puna (the high plateau) has an altitude of about 13,000 ft. On the way up the train crosses 21 bridges and 13 trestles, goes through 12 tunnels and uses 2 curly-cues and an ingenious “backtrack” to climb the required 9,000 ft. without a grapple or “claw” system. All the passenger cars have oxygen tubes and paramedics are on hand for those who have adverse reactions to the high altitude.




In some ways this ride is like a trip to another planet. The last stop before arriving at the turnaround is the mining tpown of San Antonio de los Cobres, altitude, 12,000 feet. As I walked away from the train an looked around, it struck me that if Mars baring the differences in gravity, had a little more atmosphere, and a little more surface water then I could have been standing on the Red Planet. During the day you are warned to wear hats and sun glasses to protect yourself from the naturally low solar filter. If you are staying overnight then a heavy wool poncho is highly recommended to fend off the sharp drop in the air temperature. San Antonio is the most important town on the route which can also be reached by car. It has a resident population of around 6,000 Kollas, the tribal name of the largest group of the local natives. Thin air, no humidity, only artificial shade, and substantially lower air resistance for futbol games. Of course, for centuries the locals have totally adapted themselves to these conditions. You see them literally run up and down hill paths in order to sell their wares to those gawking turistas del tren. It goes without saying that naves espaciales would not be out of place in these landscapes.



So what are we waiting for to try and adapt to adverse conditions on other planets. I have no doubt that there are other planets on Earth where we can test ourselves. It’s just a question of looking around. High mountain ranges are a great place to start. I have seen anther planet on Earth.