Testing out my desert boots in the desert

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So to San Pedro de Atacama. A small village of around 2000 souls high up the driest desert in Chile at 2,400 meters above sea level. All the houses are adobe type construction of a single storey. I am writing this entry sat in a hammock in the terrace of my accommodation, the Florida Hostel. Dry, hot day. I am a D.V, a desert virgin so I suppose this is typical deserty weather.
Stepping out of the bus at a stop in a mining town of calama i I spark up a cigarette and get chatting to Zane (Zano) and Lisa. They are from Cape Town, South Africa . Zano is a good looking, very amenable 27 year old guy and is of mixed heritage but prefers to be thought of as coloured. This is the SA term for people who are neither white nor black. His father was a teacher during the dark times of apartheid. Fiercely against that regime he married a coloured woman and was then banned from teaching an ostracised by all his white friends and forced to live in the homelands. Zano was born in Transkei a British protectorate. A sci-fi writer he is a real bookworm and has over 2500 books on his Kindle.
Talking of kindles I now wish i had one. I used to mock those on the train to work who had one but 2500 books on one light machine? A travellers dream. I have finished my last book, piano in the pyranees and am now hoping for a hostel with a book swap.
Note to self. Buy a kindle.
Zane is married to the delightful Lisa his childhood sweetheart. Blonde hair, great figure, bubbly personality and a real zest for life. They married in December and are on a years honeymoon.
They have teamed up with a solo traveller, Santiago, who ironically is from Bogata, Columbia.
I am sure there must be a Bogata who lives in Santiago Chile, just did not meet him. Typical Latin American dude. Black hair, good attitude and also fluent in English. He has recently had a tattoo of a fox on his arm. Fox in Spanish is Zorro. It resembles a Disney cartoon rather than a real one, but he is proud of it.
I asked if they had anywhere to stay and they did not. So we agreed to find accommodation together. Tramping around SP de A rooms were booked out and stupid quotes of 20,000 pesos each were quoted for empty ones. Finally arrived at a four berth dorm hostel Florida for 7,000 each. Charming hostel with all dorms facing onto the terrace where I am now. Result. Settled in.
Having cooked us all supper broke out the beer and tequila. The night went down from there and by 1am I called it a night. This was not before trying to gate crash a wedding party happening next door. Despite our powers of persuasion, Santiago's Spanish and Lisa fluttering her baby blues the answer was definite "non" as the door was shut. Four drunks were not welcome in to celebrate the union of two Chileans, though I cannot think why?
The following day decide to visit the Valle de Luna so called because it resembles to surface of the moon. Starts at 4pm with trip around the various desertal sights, culminating in watching the sunset. Sounds good and for 6,000 pesos a bargain. As there was four of us booking at once negotiated a 1000 peso reduction.
Last year for my Veitnam trip I splashed out on a pair of Clarkes desert boots. Versatile and light. Trouble is never saw a desert. So, what better place to test them out now than in a desert. Could have worn hiking boots but decided that if I had carried and worn a pair if desert boots 10,000 kms to Chile, let alone to Vietnam and Hong Kong. The least I could do was wear desert boots in the desert.
I would be setting the trend, not following it.
So off we all set. An air conditioned mini van, driver, guide called Chico, and 18 others of all nationalities.
Boiling hot afternoon so air con was essential. Two minutes into the drive and Chico switches off the aircon to as to be heard as he mumbles to us using his microphone. First in Spanish and then' Englich'
"cello my Englich friends. I am Chico. I ham yur Tur geed" we will trevel to the Valle de Luna, the moooon valley" mumble mumble. "Estonces we will bisit the tree Marias, the big doon, red valley and estonces watch the sin set over Los Andes. Gracias chicos"
Off we set. 4 seats in the back and it sit strategically so I can strech my legs. Sat in the back with me is Santiago from Bogata, Jose from Santiago ( oh the irony continues) and a very obese woman from New Zealand who should have been charged for 1.5 seats, such was the size of her arse.
Chico forgets to turn the AC back on and so we are all sweltering with five minutes.
Arrive at the national park that is Valle de Luna and naturally pay to get in.
First stop. The Three Maria's. Just in case we did not know where we were a man made stack, made to look natural but failing in all respects, had a sign Tres Marias attached to it, pointing to Tres Marias. All very fake and made in China.
So, A rock formation in the valley which has been eroded over millions of years into three small deformed towers. In order to sell the tour to us it had been named after the three Mary's. Well I say three. Actually there were only two.
"zer were tree" said Chico " pero a turist knocked one over when you were allowed to clim it"
At this point I burst out laughing and clearly losing it had to walk back to the van. South America baby. Allow the Torres del Pine to burn to the ground and fine the person responsible a pittance and fail to stop tourist breaking another of natures beautiful surprises.
Calming down and now only giggling to myself I lit a cigarette.
" lo siento" says Chico " no schmoking"
Are you #ing kidding me. We are in the middle of a desert . You allow someone to destroy a natural phenomena millions of years old but I cannot have a cigartette in case the desert catches fire!! A place where there is nothing but dust, dust and more dust.
We set off for the big dune.
Climbing it and looking down at the valley floor carved by glaciers a billion years ago, then formed by earthquakes, it was an impressive sight. A vast ampitheatre had been created. The salt from the ground following recent rain ( the first for a very long time) rising from the ground giving the appearance of a million diamonds on the ground.
In the background snow covered volcanos and mountains.
" leet me eshplain about the volcano and muntain"
Please don't.
However he continued to mumble for around ten minutes, this time without his microphone. Pointing to the volcano and trying to use the similarly of the eruption of a volcano to a cake expanding in the oven.
"it is like a cake in ze oveen" using his hands to recreate the explosion of a volcano but strangly talking about pastries. "Ze pressure furces el cake to grow up,UP, it..... how you say, how you say"
"RISES" we all shout in union.
"rises? What is rises?"
So then, instead of learning interesting facts about volcanos the big New Zealand woman gives him an English lesson in cake production.
A few pictures of the amazing landscape. I was warming to Chico. He was doing his best and that's all you can ask. The trouble is without knowing it he was so funny.
I was going to ask him what cake it was that resembled the eruption of a volcano the best. Victoria sponge, battlenburg?
Though it best to leave it.
We drive on. A quick stop a death/red valley that resembled the surface of Mars. Very impressive.trouble was the sun was setting, it did not look it's best and we needed to press on.
" mumble, mumble, sin set then home. OK?"
We arrive at the top of a hill. So do all the other tours that set off at 4pm. Hundreds of us. Minivans everywhere and the sun falling to the mountains.
Trouble is, it was not setting, just disappearing behind the mountains. Stil at full power.
When the sun sets, it falls behind the horizon. It has lost its power and once it breaks the horizon you can look at it as it sets or sinks into the sea if you are lucky enough to have no obstacles in the way.
This was totally different and was not the sun setting at all, well not at 2 400 meters above sea level.
People had set up cameras on tripods to record the event or just taking pictures.
With everyone looking at the mountain, the cameras on tripods and the sun finally hitting the mountains it looked just like the scene from 'close encounters of the third kind' when the light from the space ship doors shimmers on the aliens emerging. Really spooky. sang the five notes from the film to make it more real.
Took some pictures of my desert boots which had survived the desert test. Commented to the fat NZ woman who was now munching an apple on the way home that I wished I had bought a pudding to eat ." why?" she asked. "then I could have had a dessert in the desert" I said " and if we left Chico behind, he would have been deserted in the desert whilst I ate a dessert in the desert whilst wearing my desert boots."
Chomp chomp. No reaction. So engrossed at stuffing her face.
Well I smiled at my silly word play.
The Atacama desert is a fascinating place and when the sun did go down, the volcanoes behind us turned into amazing colours of reds and the snow to deep blue. Quite incredible.
Disco out.
Back at the hostel we are sat round having a beer and talking about our visit to the valley.
German guy " do you speak English"
"yes"
" have you been to to the valley de lune to watch the sunset"
"yes"
I am renting a bike tomorrow. What is the best time go there to see it"
I could not resist.
"at sunset? I suppose you could go at sunrise but it would be a very long wait"
I could see Zane biting his lip to stop him laughing. The German said thanks and moved away. Then riotess laughter. Good ending to an interesting day.
Disco out

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Photos

sun going behind a mountain
not setting