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This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a 3 day weekend and fly up North to visit San Pedro de Atacama and the Atacama Desert. All of the "top things to do in Chile" lists say this is a must see, and I think they are spot on. This place is otherworldly and stunningly beautiful. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering going. I'll give you a short recap of the weekend and the things we were able to enjoy.
Friday we flew into Calama where the wind chill at the airport was a balmy -25C when we stepped off the plane, and that prepared us for the cold nights and mornings we were to encounter all weekend. My roommate has friends in Calama so we spent the day with them and they took us sightseeing in Chiu Chiu to the oldest church in Chile, constructed between 1536-1540, as well as a massive lagoon in the middle of the desert. As Atacama is the driest place on earth, it was strikingly beautiful to see absolutely nothing but rocks and mountains as we drove around. Friday night we took the bus into San Pedro and as
we walked around town a little bit, I just got the feeling that it reminded me of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The lighting was poor and I couldn't see very much, but once I was able to walk about town a bit more, my initial perceptions were accurate, at least to me. There's something about this town that made me feel eerily like I was back in Santa Fe.
Saturday we got up early and headed to Lagunas Altiplanicas, which are some beautiful lagoons out in the desert, followed by the Atacama Salt Flat, which was unlike any salt flat I had seen previously in photos. The landscape in both of these places was so unlike anything I had ever seen before and it was so incredibly beautiful to me. We had some time in the afternoon to have lunch in town and watch Brazil defeat Chile in their World Cup Match (disappointing), but then headed out later that afternoon for the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) and again, it's landscape is just stunning. The photos speak for themselves.
Sunday we were up far too early to catch our tour at 4:30AM, and drive into the mountains
Church doors
Made of cactus wood to the Tatio Geysers, the largest and highest geyser field in the world, at an altitude of about 14,400 feet. We were there far before sunrise, and the bone chilling temperatures of about 10F did not make it the most enjoyable of mornings, but as you walk around the field and get up close and personal with the geysers, it reminds you of how active that part of the world is, surrounded by volcanoes and regularly struck by earthquakes, it's an area that is constantly reminding you of the tremendous power of the earth. It was a marvelous sight and I'm glad I was able to experience it, despite the cold and being exhausted. After our tour I explored town a little bit and was lucky enough to stumble upon the religious festival of San Pedro and San Pablo taking place in the plaza and I watched the procession for a while. After that we headed back to Calama and from there made our flight back to Santiago. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but it was filled with beautiful sights that I'm sure I won't ever forget.
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