First, second, and third impressions of the Atacama desert

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Well technically I'm back in Santiago, but this (long) entry is all about my trip to the northern part of Chile. Some of this might be repetitious if you’ve read the last entry or two, but now I have pictures so you can really understand what I’m talking about.

Monday we flew into Calama, a city in the Atacama Desert. We stopped at Líder (supermarket, like Meijer) to waste some time and buy some snacks and, most importantly, bottled water. The tap water in San Pedro de Atacama is not nearly as safe for American tourists as the water in Santiago. The drive to San Pedro was beautiful, even though there is only the occasional small bush. Most of it is sand and rock, stretching on forever, or at least until it reaches a mountain. The valley in which San Pedro sits is surrounded by the Andes to the east, and the Cordillera Domeyko to the west. Before we actually reached the oasis that is San Pedro, we stopped to look at La valle de la luna, or the Valley of the Moon, so named because it looks like another planet entirely. The only thing that I’ve even seen before that might compare to this desolate, beautiful landscape is the Badlands, in the Dakotas. San Pedro is a town functioning mostly as a center for tourism in and around the desert, offering lots of hostels and extreme sports and bus tours. We explored individually the first day.

Tuesday morning we explored Pucará de Quitor, a pre-Hispanic fort built on a hillside to protect the indigenous people from the Spanish, or the barbarians, as our tour guide called them. Afterwards we went to the archaeological museum Padre le Paige, named after a Belgian priest who preserved artifacts and protected the natives. There we learned more about the influence of the different native groups on the Atacamans, like the Inka (Inca), who influenced their art and shared several advancements in a non-aggressive and non-oppressive rule. They did not force them to abandon their original beliefs or traditions and adopt Incan ones instead, which is a beautiful thing. After lunch we drove to La valle de la muerte, or Valley of the Dead, through which the road to San Pedro de Atacama used to wind. Legend has it that one day, a sheepherder and his flock entered the valley on their way to San Pedro, but they never made it out the other side, nor were any remains ever found. There are also no living organisms whatsoever in the valley, meaning it is an absolute desert. We proceeded further on to visit an old salt mine, since much of the desert has salt in it, and to watch the sunset at La valle de la luna. I tried to take pictures, but none of them do the sunset or the landscape any justice. Sorry. It really is one of those things where you had to be there. After sunset, the temperature dropped immediately. Like any desert, the Atacama is pleasant during the day, since it is winter here, and very cold once the sun goes down. We bounded down a sand dune to meet the bus, then returned to San Pedro, where we explored some of the little bars and restaurants. My favorite had a blazing, inviting fire right next to the entrance, and a live band every night.

Wednesday we got a bit of a late morning, which was a real treat on this trip. After breakfast we walked to the house of an Atacaman man named Carlos. He told us more about his people and the conflict that the different indigenous groups continue to have with the Chilean government. The government refuses to recognize the natives in their ayllus, which I only kind of understand as a community that is tied to the land of their ancestors and should take care of its own needs. Carlos also invited us to participate in a ceremony of sorts that thanks Pachamama, or the mother earth, for all that she provides. We poured wine on the ground first then drank some ourselves, and chewed coca leaves. Finally we tried some traditional food made from plants of the desert. I wish I remembered the names, but unfortunately I only remember that there was a drink made from quinoa and was colored with fruit from the tree that shaded us. We walked back to San Pedro for a quick lunch, and then went sandboarding in La valle de muerte. It took me a while to get the hang of it and to overcome my fear of the steep dune, but eventually I did both, kind of. I kept sinking into the sand if I didn’t have enough momentum, but I was totally cool with not going too fast. We boarded until we were pooped, or until the sun set and it got too cold; I’m not sure which came first. I didn’t take my camera with me for fear of getting it sandy, which was probably a good call on my part because, no joke, I found sand in my ears after my shower yesterday (Saturday). Some others did bring cameras though, so I’ll get a hold of some of those eventually.

Thursday was an early day. We started the long drive to the high plateau lagoons Miscanti and Miñiques. However, we didn’t quite make it. By some twist of fate, we were there on one of the ten days a year that it snows. Yes. Snow. In the desert. Our driver went as far as he could, but the poor old bus just couldn’t make it. We got out to kick around in the snow for a while as he backed up until he found a spot to turn the bus around. We ate lunch in Socaire, another small desert town based mostly on agriculture. Much of the land surrounding it was terraced to provide places to grow the necessities. After lunch, we were going up an incline when the driver stopped the bus and turned off the engine. We sat still for a moment, but then the bus started rolling…uphill. By itself. Our guides said he had tried that in all sorts of vehicles in that same spot, and no one has ever been able to explain it. Someone said it was maybe caused by the lithium pools nearby, but who knows. It was creepy, but awesome. We headed downhill into the middle of the basin formed by the mountains. The vegetation stopped, and it was salt as far as I could see. The salt flats are formed by some process involving soil concentration and run-off from the mountains. They are the second largest in the world, with some place in Bolivia being the largest. We walked about on a path, because the salt forms a crust that is not so solid in some places and can cut you like coral. The National Flamingo Reserve is in the Atacama Salt Lake, and we got to see some of these majestic but awkward creatures. I never expected to find flamingoes in the desert. But I did. After dinner, we enjoyed the stars, which are sooo bright here. There is so little pollution in the desert that the Milky Way was practically glowing. Colleen saw a handful of shooting stars, but I missed them. Even so, it was a magnificent site that I will miss. We meandered the streets of San Pedro, then went to bed.

Friday morning presented yet another different experience. We relaxed in the Puritama Hot Springs. It was cold out of the water, but the five or six pools were anywhere between 25 and 30 degrees C, which is nice. After a couple hours we headed back to the hostel, finished packing, used the internet café, and left San Pedro de Atacama, but hopefully not forever. On the way to Calama, we stopped to water the only tree that grows on the road between the two cities. About 15 km outside of Calama, we stopped at a memorial that honors the victims of Pinochet’s regime that were found in caves close by. It was beautiful, moving, chilling, and tragic. If you go to the desert, make sure to stop here. Actually, make sure you do everything that I’ve done, because it was an amazing trip. Now I’m getting excited to explore Santiago, the capital of this wonderful and diverse country.

If you've made it this far, I love you.

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Photos

The desert
The real first impression.

The Andes
Looking east on the bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama

Bienvenidos...
...a la valle de la luna

Valley of the Moon
Eerie and salty

Valle de la luna
This is just the first part of the valley that I saw. There is so much more to it. This desert goes on for kilometers and kilometers.

Colera/Cholera
Either cholera still runs rampant in the streets of San Pedro, which I highly doubt, or this sign is proof that the desert preserves thins very well. It only receives 5mm of rain annually.

La iglesia de San Pedro
The only church in the village. It's about a 50-50 split between Catholics and Evagelicals. The rest of Chile is about 70% Catholic.

San Pedro
A view of the oasis from Pucara de Quitor, the pre-Hispanic fortress.

Pucara de Quitor
A wall that was once part of a house in the fortress.

Zona de derrumbe
We ascended Pucara very quickly. This is th riverbed/road below. The sign means erosion zone.

Welcome
This site is maintained by a local group of indigenous people. The native groups in Chile have much more say in the preservation of artifacts and historical sites than in the States.

Atacaman Man
This man protects the caves that stored the food behind the hill of the fortress. He never actually guarded the food, however, since he's only 12 or 15 years old.

La valle de la muerte
Rounding the corner to see the Valley of Death for teh first time

Valley of Death
Totally void of life...except for the occasional sandboarder.

Salt
The Valley of the Moon. It might look like snow, but it's all salt.

Sand
A beautiful, crisp dune in La valle de la luna. It's protected, so we couldn't walk on it; however, we found plenty of others, as evidenced by the sand that is still in my shoes.

Road
The road through La valle de la luna.

Sunset
This is the best picture I could get, but it doesn’t show how all-encompassing the light and landscape is. It is breathtaking.

Sunset 2
Just as the sun goes down, the Andes turn pink.

Fire in the sky
Just after sunset, it looked like the clouds and mountains were on fire. Again, this picture doesn't quite get the job done.

Carlos' house
Most of the houses are made of adobe. Sometimes they'll put a beam of wood in a wall for extra protection against earthquakes, but it is very expensive since trees are so scarce in the desert.