So our next stop on our northbound trek was La Serena and the Elqui Valley, apparently a centre of mystical energy, hippies and Elqui-holics. Surrounded by arid mountains and desert, with this lush valley carving a green vein through the landscape, it´s easy to understand why people feel the valley special. We spent the night at a small town called Vicuna, and went to an observatory, which was pretty awesome, seeing Saturn and nebulae, star clusters and shooting stars. The next coupla days were spent chiling in the tiny little desert town of Pisco Elqui, with its sleepy town square occupied by hippies selling volcanic stones and trinkets. Like, very zen man. 18 hours by bus later, and we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama, a desert oasis in the middle of the Atacama desert. Surrounded
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