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Published: June 17th 2006
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We get to the bus station in Santiago in plenty of time, despite having reclimbed San Crostobel hill for a second time during our final afternoon. This time the last part of the ascent and the entire descent at a run! We calculate this to be 12ks. I just had the urge to expend energy prior to being couped up on a bus for 24 hours. I don´t think Brendan has forgiven me yet!
Anyway, our bus was due to leave at 5pm. Just before 5 the Calama bus arrived and we took our bags to the hold, only to be told that although this was a bus to Calama and it was 5pm, this was actually the 4.20 bus and we must wait for the official 5pm bus. This duly arrived at 5.20 and we got on.
We were a tad apprehensive as we had gone for the slightly cheaper
of two companies as we couldn't determine any big differences. We were therefore expecting some detrement to justify the price difference. We were happily proved wrong as we settled into our business-class size seats, almost fully reclining. Within ten minutes of boarding we were given a meal, similar to ones provided on aircraft, and a cup of tea with biscuits. Things improved even more as the Divinchi Code was played on a TV screen just a few feet from our seats. (I know we saw it in Sydney, and I think that the book is better, but it was still fun to watch it again). We were plied with food and drink and films for the entire trip, and can´t praise the Pullman company enough. We even had a special " Welcome to Chile, my friends" directed especially to us over the microphone by the friendly conductor. As we journey north, the scenery changes and gradually becomes more dry and sandy as we approach the desert region.
We arrive at Calama and are dropped outside a huge hypermarket which has parking areas named after dog breeds. They also have curious officers who look like a combination between Western Sherrifs
San Pedro village plaza.
You can just make out the volcano in the background.and Rookie Mountain Rangers, dressed in red with Camel colour huge hats and long boots. Their role appears to be disuading the dogs from entering the store. As I watch, a little mongrel with a very waggy tail gives the poor guy a real runaround, and he even resorts to shooing the dog from his push bike.
We establish we need to get a taxi to the TurBus office from where we can catch a bus for the final hour and half to San Pedro. Brendan extremely impressively buys the tickets and establishes the time of the next bus in Spanish. While we wait, we strike up a conversation with an American girl who is also headed for San Pedro. It turns out that she is from Florida and is studying Sociology in Valparasio (which we have visited) and is taking advantage of the fact that the Universities in Chile are striking in support of the High Schools, to travel around a bit. She only planned to stay away a night, and so only has a tiny day pack, but has enjoyed it so much that she kept travelling the 1,000 miles North.
After another comfortable bus trip,
we arrive at San Pedro and are descended upon by people offering accomodation. We decide to firstly check of one of the places recommended in our guide book as it sounds nice and is central (although the village is very small).
We are not disappointed and book into the hostel which is set around a courtyard, with hammocks hanging from the trees. The only thing we do notice is that this place is cold, very very cold. We were very cold in Russia and very very cold in Mongolia, but as we got to warmer countries we gleefully sent home all our thermal long johns, hats gloves and scarfs etc. We now see the error of our ways.
We explore the extremely picturesque village which has a very mediterranean feel especially with its white church gleaming against the bright blue sky. Within about ten minutes I have replaced my hat, gloves and scarf in one of the woollen clothing shops.
We eat out, and the restauants/bars are very atmospheric with rustic decor and a central fire (either open or huge chiminey style). The food is delicious, quite Italian in style and I enjoy pasta and pesto, which
is quite sad really as I eat this in bucket loads at home.
We visit several tour companies and plan our next few days. The main purpose of stopping here is to join a trip across the nearby border into Bolivia for a tour of amongst other things the salt flats. We learn that the first England match will take place in two days so (after a bit of negotiation) :-) we decide to leave the day after that.
This is such a lovely place and there is so much to do that we are spoiled for choice. We are quite stiff after our mountain run in Santiago so I think that horse riding would be easier first. There are several ranches, so we determine the best of these and book a two-hour ride through the Atacama desert to a local oasis. We are accompanied by the guy in the office where we booked, and also a local who we believe owns the place. The owner looks the business with his hat on his pinto horse and is quite sullen but an excellent horseman.
Also on our ride are more American students coincindentally also from Valpariso also
taking the opportunity to travel while their University is on strike. They are lovely and speaking fluent Spanish, translate all the information about the area that the guide is giving. The scenery is outstanding, and I absolutely love it. Brendan does extremely well, especially as this is only his third time on a horse (and counting :-) ). It really is amazing to be riding lovely horses across the driest desert in the world, enjoying staggering views of volcanic mountains and lush oasis.
The next day, the England match is showing at 9am local time, 2pm UK time. We get up and head to a bar that has got a big screen (a projector and a white tarpaulin) and settle down to watch with breakfast and a cuppa. Incidentally it is customary in Chile to take tea black. To have it white its necessary to specify 'with a little leche', otherwise you tend to get hot milk with tea which is pretty disgusting. This is what Brendan had with his breakfast. There is quite a good atmosphere and the chiminey fire is lit which is cosy. Whilst the consensus is that the match was pretty poor, the result is
welcomed.
Another of the local attractions is Moon Valley. We learn from one of the American girls that it is especially impressive to visit at sunset, and a full moon sunset is the best of all. Coincidentally, today is full moon, so we book on an afternoon, early evening tour . We also hoped to go sandboarding (like snowboarding but down sanddunes) and are delighted to learn that there is a full moon trip this evening, beginning at 9pm and returning some time after midnight. This seems like such a mad idea, we cannot resist.
Back to the Moon Valley trip. Our guide is Daniel who is lovely and has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen in my entire life. I keep trying to serrupticiously take a photo of them from the side, but don't quite manage it. Everyone else on the bus speaks fluent Spanish, so Daniel takes pity on us, sits us at the front and speaks Spanish to us!
We start off at Valley de la Muerte (Death Valley), so called because a French man named it after a planet that in French sounds like the Spanish for death. We are relieved by
this explanation as it is to here that we will return later to sandboard in the dark. The scenery is very dramatic and we hope the photos will do it justice. Our next stop is to a salt cave. With hindsight, I cannot believe what we did here. It was basically a very small tunnel with lethel outcrops, potholes, bends and was mostly absolutely pitch black. I bashed my head, then my elbow, then fell down a hole and nearly flattened the poor guy in front of me. We were given little torches, but these were dropped as people knocked into the walls or stumbled. It was with relief that we got the the other end.
Our final stop and the main reason for the trip is Moon Valley. The scenery is staggering and we climb a steep path to watch the setting sun across the mountains and volcanoes. As soon as the sun sets the temerature drops dramatically and after a period of contemplation we head back to the bus.
We return to town with two hours to pack our bags (we leave for Bolivia at 8am the next morning) and to have our tea. We enjoy
a delicious vegetarian lasagne and get to the sandboard place where we are then joined by six Chileans. The guy tells us that they are beginners too. The guide, Emilio, goes off to get supplies of Pisco Sour (the local drink included in the price and essential for keeping warm) and off we set.
After what feels like a long time off road, and in what doesn't feel like particularly bright moonlight at this stage, we arrive at the spot. As we gather ourselves we see a shooting star and I say "Make a wish!" to which one of the Chillean girls says "Si! Make a witch! Make a witch!" So we make 'witches' and having been allocated our sandboards, we follow Emilio up the hill. This is extremely hard work as the hill is steep, the sand is hard going and the high altitude is really affecting us, making us breathless and any exertion feeling more extreme than it is. At the top, we horror upòn horror learn that we have to take off our shoes in order to have more feel and control as we place our feet in the loopholes on the board.
The temperature
is very cold (Emilio later estimates it to be -2) and I almost completely suppress a smile as my shoes come off to reveal some beautiful, extremely think and extremely warm wool socks, which Brendan had rejected out of hand when I suggested he get a pair himself.
After some crude instruction first I, then Brendan set off down the hill. It is absolutely mad. We are up a massive hill in the desert in Chile, at night under the moolight, sliding at great speed with a board strapped to out feet . We love it! Inevitably we fall over, pick ourselves up , climb back up and do it all over again. On my third or fourth attempt, I seem to take off a lot faster and gather increasing speed until I must be doing about 40mph (or so it feels). I suddenly lose my nerve, forget how to slow down and my board nose-dives propelling me (still at 40mph) down the hill which I hit, bounce, fly, hit, bounce again all the while letting out a blood curdling screem. The hill falls silent while I check for breaks and get back to my feet. Fortunately I am
A sign in the hostel...
...reminding us that we are in the driest desert in the world! still in one piece. When I get back to the top I discover that Brendan had used practically an entire candle in waxing the bottom of my board ( it is only necessary to put some zigzag lines on the base to help the board slide).
We both fall plenty more, but in between manage to do some passable boarding. It really is great fun, a real adrenaline rush, and to be doing it under the full moon and bright stars in the middle of the Atacama desert is absoutely amazing. After a while Emilio calls us over and we all sit and enjoy a Pisco Sour. The Chileans are really funny, they are only about eighteen and are visiting from Calama. They have catch phrases they keep repeating in heavily accented English including 'sexy' and 'I'm so confused'. They discover that you can ride the board like a sled and with two people they go even faster.
Eventually (at about 12.30am ) it is time to return to town. We are invited to a full moon party that the Chileans and Emilio are going to. It sounds like it will be great fun, but we doubt our
ability to carry on partying and get up at 6.30 so sadly turn the offer down. It's not all bad though, as in the morning we will be setting off on a three day 4x4 trip into Bolivia!
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Alec
non-member comment
You cannot be serious!!!!
This has to be the most spectacular yet, both in adventures and in sights! The salt mine alone would be fun to do a risk assessment on let alone sandboarding in the dark! (we have to do one to take students into the town centre or the local park) The shots of the sunset and the mountainous terrain were breathtaking. "The full moon and setting sun over the Atacama Desert" is especially beautiful, and very unusual. In haste now, will re-visit later. Meanwhile, thanks for all the effort this blog must take - and go safely. Love, A