BarkellWH -> RE: Spanish Ghost Towns (Jun. 3 2011 0:30:03)
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Let me carry this further, much further. The Pan American Highway threaded its way through Chile, and today one can take it through northern Chile. At the turn of the century (20th century, that is) there was a nitrate mining town named Humberstone. Humberstone consisted of many Barracks to house the miners, a metal (not concrete) swimming pool, a mess hall, and not much else. Today, Humberstone is a ghost town. You can visit it, see much of the machinery that has remained dormant for 80 years, and even see the remains of the metal swimming pool. Back when Humberstone was a thriving mining town, the powers at the time decided that the all-male workforce needed an outlet to release their energy on Saturday nights. So they created a town called Pozo Almonte, some 5 kilometres from Humberstone. Pozo Almonte consisted of nothing by whore houses and bordellos of various types, and a few cantinas and bars. Here is the great lesson of human nature. Today, Humberstone is a ghost town, and Pozo Almonte is a thriving town along the Carretera Panamericana. Cheers, Bill
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