A boy and his backpack. A tale of journey and adventure.
July 28, 2008
-
To the Atacama Desert
After we returned to Valparaiso from Mendoza, we spent one last week in Valparaiso. It was somewhat difficult to leave since it had become our home over the past several months. (six for Sharla) We left the comfort of our apartment and set out with our backpacks.
Most of the main points of interest that we wanted to see were in northern Chile or the neighboring countries. So we packed up our bags and headed for the small town of San Pedro de Atacama. From Valparaiso it took us 26 hours by bus to get there. Now, 26 hours in a bus stinks. But, it was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. These are large charter buses so they are relatively comfortable.
San Pedro de Atacama is located in the middle of the Atacama desert. The Atacama is significant in that it is the driest desert in the world. Many places have never recorded rainfall since records have been kept. The town of San Pedro is tiny. I would estimate most of the town is encompassed in a 4x4 block radius. Water is scarce to say the least. Most hostels, including the one we stayed in, do not have running water for most of the day. So, this means that you either wash during the selected hours, or you dont wash at all. Nevertheless, it is worth it. The views and activities available in the area are one of a kind.
Our first attraction was the Tatio Geysers. These are the worlds highest geysers. That is to say, you are 5,000 meters above sea level. 3 miles. In order to see the geysers at their brightest, you must leave San Pedro on a bus at 4:00 a.m. and take a two hour ride to where they are located near the Chile/ Bolivian border. It is unbelievably cold. Granted, I live in Texas and I am not accustomed to cold conditions, but this was easily the coldest I have ever been. The geysers are amazing though. There were about 30 of them, all shooting water and steam into the air as the sun rose over the mountains. There is also a hot springs pool here where you can jump in and experience the warm water. I kept my senses, and the 7 layers of clothes I had on and decided not to jump in. On the way back down from the geysers, we stopped at a tiny village the inhabits about 50 people or so. There is a small church and about 30 houses. Llamas run around the village. For lunch, the locals made us some Llama kebabs. Pretty good I must say!
The dry conditions of the Atacama are an astronomers dream. Dry, no clouds, little wind, and no city lights for miles. The United States, as well as many other countries, are currently building massive telescopes here where they will be able to see distances that are currently out of range. We took a night tour of the stars with a French astronomist who has taken San Pedro as his home. EVERY star that is available to the human eye can be seen from San Pedro. I cant describe the scene, but it was spectacular. We saw 6 or 7 shooting stars. For me, the most impressive thing is that you can see the Milky Way with your bare eyes! No telescope or binoculars necessary. I’ll never forget what it was like to see the stars in that setting. Brilliant.
The following day we decided to take a horseback trek. It was nice to take everything in from horseback. We went through the Valley of Death, which is aptly named because farmers used to lose cattle travelling through this area. The dead cattle remains would be left behind, hence, Valley of Death. I’ve included a picture or two.
That afternoon, we took a tour through the Valley of the Moon. Incredible views. The guide takes us up to one of the highest points of the dunes where there is an incredible view of the desert. The Valley of the Moon is named because the large salt deposits that reside here have created a chamber of rocks that looks like the surface of the moon. As the sun sets, the rocks cools off and you can actually hear the walls cracking as the salt rocks shrink. The final stop is a large crescent rock where you can watch the sun set. For about 20 minutes, the landscape is transformed into different colors as the suns rays reflect off the mountain side. Purples, oranges, reds, pinks….. The same piece of desert will transform into all of these colors over the time it takes the sun to set. I have included some pictures of that as well.
Sun-tanned and worn down by the dry climate, we left San Pedro and headed east, for one of my favorite parts of the trip so far, Uyuni!
