From the starry skies of the Elqui Valley to the desert of San Pedro

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We spent a few days in the small town of Pisco Elqui, home of the National drink Pisco Sours (which in my opinion tastes like a prolongued Tequila Slammer) and one of the best places in the world to see the stars. We had an idylic camping spot, surrounded by trees and streams with unbelievably clear water, although we were the only ones there, perhaps the combination of it being low season and Chile not being top of the list for backpackers. We did some walking around the nearby sandy and stony hills, although the surroundings change a lot once you´re in the valley and surrounded by vineyard upon vineyard.

We stopped off en route back to La Serena in another small town, Vicuña, and camped in what was basically someones back garden, surrounded by Avocado trees and chile plants. We met a few other backpackers here which made a nice change and spent one day on a bike ride to the next village. We stopped off at what we thought was some kind of eco resort, but it soon became apparent that it was actually a Hare Krishna community and before we knew it we were on a tour of the temple and being told about their values of respecting animals, which I ofcourse agree with, apart from their vegetarian dog who I felt bad for; he looked like he would love a piece of steak.

The highlight of Vicuña was most definitely the tour of the observatory that we went on. I wasn´t sure what to expect from the tour, but it was full of mind bending information and unbelievable sights. We saw the craters of the moon as if it was a nearby mountain; the rings of saturn, which were just like the iconic image you imagine; far away galaxies; and nebulas, the birth place of stars. What I found most difficult to get my head around is the fact that every time we looked down this giant telescope, thousands and millions of light years away, you are effectively looking into the past, what you see is a ghost.

After another night in La Serena we headed to Calama, a seaside town. We walked along the path, surrounded by dry inhospitable land, to the nearby more popular beach town of Bahia Inglesa (Chile´s Bridlington) and spent some time on the beach there. It was another quick stop off, as we then boarded the over night bus to San Pedro De Atacama, where we are now.

We´ve spent a few days in San Pedro De Atacama, surrounded by one of the driest deserts in the world, against the back drop of mountains and blue skies. It´s by far the most touristy place weve been so far, and they sell tours like Mcdonalds sell cheese burgers. The village is only small and is full of narrow dusty roads, lined by low mud brick buildings; it definitely has a charm to it. We cycled to the Valle de Lunar, one of the main attractions here. Although, our journey was less than ideal, consisting of a bicycle tyre blowing out, having to go back to the hostel to switch bikes, setting off again only to have the chain get stuck and cycling back in one gear. But despite the bike drama, it was still a great trip and wasnt like anything Ive seen before; miles of sandy craters and unusual rock formations, topped with white salt rock made you feel like you could have been on another planet.

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Photos

moon gazing
we actually took this photo down the telescope!