Blogs from Caldera, Atacama, Chile, South America

From Fodor's: The Atacama Desert meets the Pacific Ocean in the Antofagasta region of Northern Chile. Rich in history, the desert-scape is peppered with abandoned nitrate mining towns and active copper mines around the Pan-American Highway. Dramatic cliffs drop to long beaches formed by the Pacific Ocean’s belting waves. Dry and arid winds have resulted in salt basins and lava flows throughout the Atacama Desert, lending it a moon-like landscape. The Valley of the Moon in Los Flamencos National Reserve is an exceptional spread of dunes, rugged mountains, and distinctive formations. At this remote location by the Pacific Ocean, dark skies offer some of the world’s most beautiful and clear star-viewing. I am reposting a funny story from our visit to the Atacama: After a few days on the coast of Chile, we rapidly tired of ... read more

Have you ever visited one of the oldest and driest deserts in the world, the Atacama in Chile? Well, on the long drive through the "Thin Country", we spent a few days in the Atacama before heading south. They say some parts of the desert have not seen rain for over a hundred years. As I recall, Mr. Mike and I were there during the early spring. The nearest town, San Pedro was a cold and windy frontier town, on the edge of the Atacama. But on the few occasions it rains, the desert transforms into a beautiful cascade of wildflowers. NASA uses the Atacama to mimic Mars. The Valle de Marte resembles the red planet. The unique colors have also provided landscapes for Hollywood movies. The desert is also ideal for stargazing, with cool, clear ... read more

Once more, time had passed all too quickly and we were again having to say goodbye. This time to Lisa. It had been fantastic to see her again, and once more like Matt and Lou, it was all over too quickly. For our last night, we were back in Santiago where Lisa would fly out from, and so we decided to go out and have a nice dinner. Fortunately for us the receptionist at our hostel recommended a cool little area called Patio Bella Vista where there were all manner of restaurants and live music etc. and it was only a short walk away. And so, we had one final lovely evening involving food, wine, and pisco sours followed by a trip to a good old fashioned Irish bar…I mean, it’s rude not to isn’t it??! ... read more

We are currently in the worlds driest desert... any guesses... well done to all the geographers out there who knew that it is the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. We´re about to go sandboarding this afternoon and then see (another) sunset from some sort of salt based lake/cave/mountain. We´ve done all of Bolivia since our last blog on a GAP Adventures tour (I got it for free as a sort of leaving present from STA and snuck Em on with a tidy discount :) ) so quite a lot to tell you about. Bolivia is supposed to be the weirdest country is South America and also the cheapest - which got me excited - and it certainly didnt disappoint on both fronts. We ate a three course lunch for 90p and saw all sorts of weird ... read more

Esta playa de aguas turquesas y cristalinas queda a alrededor de una hora y media de Copiapó y a 15 minutos hacia el oceano pacífico desde Caldera. Desde Copiapó se puede tomar un bus hasta caldera y después un taxi hasta Bahía Inglesa. El lugar es un pequeño pueblo con casas de gente acomodada y otras no tanto, muchos lugares donde ir a acampar, un par de hoteles y también hostales. Esta aventura fue parte del viaje a Copiapo como delegación de la Universidad de Concepción que realizamos con unos amigos. Antes de asistir al congreso (que era lo fundamental del viaje) nos escapamos un par de días a esta paradisíaca playa y empezamos con la no fácil tarea de conseguir alojamiento. Con mi amigo Adonay conseguimos una casa no tan grande (tres piezas, cocina, living ... read more