log in

Driving Impressions

Brought to you by:

Hyundai Tucson Encounter On The Route To The Stars! - Chapter 2

Article Index

 

Chapter 2:
Superlative stargazing,
living an astronomer's dream

By now, it was nighttime, and next on our agenda was a visit to the Collowara Observatory where we literally had a date with the stars.

The drive was estimated to take just over two hours and our hosts shuttled us in diesel-powered Hyundai H1 taxis, which were proving to be the vehicles of choice of Chile’s transport sector.

By the time we had chatted about our various backgrounds and countries, and had been shown the local landmarks by our taxi driver, we were high into the mountains and began to feel slightly out of breath. We were grateful to have acclimatised by the time we arrived and everyone welcomed the servings of wine and hot, freshly made minced meat pies. 

 

As we all stood in front of the observatory, laser lights shot beams over our heads, rapidly scanning the mountainside and painting rotating Hyundai logos in the process.

The large white observatory building was bathed in constantly colour-changing lights, adding to the other-worldly theme. A pair of Tucsons was also on-site– one placed centre stage and the other off to the side, perched atop some rocks and creatively lit.

After a short introduction, the lights went off completely. It was so dark that it was virtually impossible to see your hand in front of your face– but, by contrast, the brightness of the stars was heightened. 

Suddenly, a humanoid figure appeared with a suit and top hat fringed with LED lights and a grid of LEDs outlined its overall shape. In the distance, it disappeared, and momentarily popped up within a hair’s breadth of us! Another green-accented character also lit up and vanished to the beat of an electronic soundtrack, and the two seemed to alternate between fighting and dancing. Just then, there was a host of green characters dancing with varied lighting on their LED suits. 

Later on in their performance, when the laser show had resumed on the mountain, the dancers also used swinging LED sticks that when spun quickly enough, formed Hyundai logos. Strobes, multicoloured lights, and lasers lit up the Tucsons and the staging area as everyone enjoyed this futuristic moving light show. Needless to say, the performers had earned a hearty round of applause, cheers and whistles from us all.

Anyone experiencing tiredness or jet lag was now revived, and we were invited inside the Observatory and ushered to the back into a large heated tent. There we would be treated to hot fish and vegetable soups, more empanadas and finger foods, and later on, pisco, a white Chilean brandy, and other beverages.

We also took the opportunity to get to know each other. This night, a popular Chilean TV host and journalist ‘Papelito’ and his son taught me a new term of endearment, namely weon, which loosely translates to ‘the one with eggs’. It is reserved for well-established male friends, and is more or less equivalent to our popular slang terms ‘horse’, ‘stones’, and ‘bredrin’. It may also be used as a random interjection in humorous conversation. “¡Salud, weon! You are now one of us, an honorary Chilean,” I was told as we raised a toast and enjoyed a few sips of pisco. 

But the night was far from over as we were ushered to the telescope room where we stood in a dome with a retractable roof, just like in the movies. Although the telescope wasn’t quite as large as the biggest ones seen in feature films, it was larger than any I had seen in the Caribbean. The view of the planet Saturn, perhaps the most likely celestial object to see with your own eyes at night, was simply fantastic. It was sharp and clear, and made possible by Chile’s perfect atmospheric conditions and low light pollution in our ideal mountainous location.

Equally as amazing was the view of the night sky with the naked eye. Since no one had thought to bring a tripod, a few of us tried some long exposure shots using the building as a base on which to steady the camera. Many of us could not resist trying to capture the natural splendour of the Milky Way and the sheer number of stars that were now easily visible. These would be the final moments to draw the night to a close and that would captivate our memories for a lifetime.

Chapter 3 >>

TT Motorsport Car Clubs

  • Autosport - Drags, Drag & Wind
  • C.A.R.S. - Solodex/Autocross
  • Rally Club TT - Rally
  • Side-B - Off Road
  • Trail Blazers - Off Road
  • Trini Truckin'
  • TTASA - Drags, Circuit, Karting
  • TTDA - Drift
  • TTKA - Karting
  • TTORC - Off Road
  • TTundra - Drag Racing