Oasis in the desert

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From La Serena to San Pedro took 3 days travelling. It was very exhausting but the scenery was beautiful. We did 2 bush camps. The first night we stopped in a remote cove near Chañaral. We arrived just in time for a great sunset. There was a lovely dinner around the camp fire.

The next day we were still on the Pan Am. We passed a truck that had been run off the road by someone who was passing him. He was stuck well in the sand with a full container on the back. We stopped to see if we could help but we would be too small to pull him out. We were driving through a huge expanse of desert, and the scenery just became more and more barren. We stopped at the 'Hand in the Desert'. The hand was built by an artist in 1992 and he pretended that he dug it out of the desert.

We camped in a mining area next to the railway. It was very windy. We had a lovely bbq. Trains went through on occasion, carrying cargo. You could hear them coming a long way off and they would blow their whistles when they saw us and wave before disappearing into the distance. The 4 am train was very ghostly in the morning mist.

San Pedro is situation at 2,400 meters. On our way through Calama we stocked up on Gaterade as well as usual shop. We were going to be drinking a lot of water to help with the altitude.

San Pedro appeared as a green patch in the red desert. We camped near the middle of town. The days were very hot but the nights were very cold. The first night we went to an observatory. Not a tradition observatory building, it was just this guys house and he had 5 huge telescopes outside. The astronomer was a frenchman who settled there with his Chilean wife. It was very interested. We all stood outside in the cold while he used a laser pointer to point out the stars. The laser was green and powerful. It looked like it was touching the stars. One of the telescopes was pointing at Saturn and you could see the rings very clearly.

Next day we got up at 4 am. A bus picked us up and drove 100 km on a rough road to go to the El Tatio geysers. They were most active before 9 am so we had to get there early. We got to walk around the geysers, there were no roped off areas but we fancied some areas should have been restricted. There was lots of steam and some geysers regularly spouted a meter or so high. After breakfast it was time for a dip in the hot pools. It was simply a hole dug next to a little hot spring, so it was really hot and one end a cold at the other. It was still a lovely way to warm up after the freezing early morning start.

When we returned to San Pedro we went to the Archaeological Museum. This museum was a real surprise. So far it was the best museum we have seen on our trip. It is very well displayed with cards in english explaining the chronological history of the area. They had some lovely mummies and gold artifacts that are kept in a special vault. If you are in San Pedro it is a must. It is just off the main plaza.

We also visited the church. It is the oldest in building in San Pedro, from 1540, with a roof made out of cactus wood.

While Pieter slept in a hammock, Rae went off to Valle de la Luna with the rest of the group. It is an impressive red landscape with sand dunes and odd shaped rocks. We climb a sand dune to watch the sunset. Another great sunset.

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Photos

What happened here?
Stopping to provide assistance to truck that was ran off the road

The Hand in the Desert
... and Cameron

Second night bush camp
We provided amusement for the train drivers

Saturn
As seen through the telescope at the observatory

El Tatio geysers
Welcoming the sun

Llareta
On the way back from the geysers we were shown this huge llareta, moss that is over a hundred years old

Llama
One of the many that we would see .. and eat

Inside the church
With the roof made of cactus wood

Archaeological Museum
The museum with TJ, a fellow travelling saying hello

Archaeological Museum
A gold mug

Archaeological Museum
An old girl