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Published: April 20th 2007
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Another overnight bus journey that was 15 1/2 hours of bliss in a Cama Saloon - these are seats that lie down flat and are like big lazy boy chairs. We arrived in this little town called San Pedro de Atacama without a hostel booking, the first time we had gone cold into a town. What a different little town to what we are used to. This is the first time we felt we had arrived in a different culture. All houses were adobe, with adobe or grass on the roof. Red dusty roads, that were not made for 2 way vehicle traffic, you could imagine donkeys and horses being driven down these roads, but we didn't see any. The evidence was there though. Lots of people rode bikes and when two vehicles met there was a bit of squeezing to get passed.
We were met at the bus station by Mario and Marian and invited to stay at their Cabanas. We stayed there for three nights in a real adobe room with a real ethnic backyard. Ducks and chooks in their pen, hammocks under the trees and tables and chairs under woven sun shades. It was a real comfortable
place to stay and we stayed longer because we liked it so much. When we arrived at the Cabanas we had a rest and slept for 4 hours. Then had a walk around town and booked a tour for the next day.
We did a tour of Valle de la Luna - Valley of the moon. This was a tour that went to overlooking a valley called Death Valley and then onto Valley of the Moon, apparently the most like the moon you can get on earth. Astronoughts test their moon equipment out here. We were taken to some natural rock sculptures called Las Tres Marias- the three Mairas and a disbandoned salt mine. What a hard life that was for the men who worked these mines. No water, no vegetation, heat and cold and wind. No women were allowed because the mines were thought of as female and another female in the mine caused the mine to become jealous and cause trouble.
We climbed a very large ridge to watch the sun set, nearly did Josie in because the air was so thin, Paul climbed higher but Josie would not go another inch, once at the top.
Watching the sun set was very pleasant, but got cool very quickly.
Another tour the next day to the Salt Flats and Altiplanic Lagoons. This tour took us to a National Park on the salt flats with flamencos in the lagoons. This was formed by the area collapsing down forming a huge basin approximately 2,200 meters above sea level and San Pedro is 2,400 meters above seat level. 96% of the water evaporated that had travelled underground from the Andes, carrying large amounts of minerals. The salt flats are bumpy because all the water comes from under the salt flats and pushes the minerals up. After visiting the salt flats we visited a small town called Toconao, this was built around an area where a river comes above ground and they can grow really good fruit trees. We visited a church and a bell tower that had its door made of cactus wood. A special tall cactus that grows for about 200 years and then dies and the inside of it can be used as wood. When we visited it was Sunday morning and a nun went inside this door, with wooden hinges and rung the bell to let
everyone know church was going to start. We visited a sourvineer shop and out the back they had llamas in their back yard.
Then onto the Miscanti lagoons. These were at 4,200 meters above sea level. It was very hard to do anything strenuous. My hat blew off and I had to give chase, I was nearly done in again. I nearly gave up and then thought I had better get my hat because it would be there for ever, nothing decays here, it is so dry. After seeing more birds and petrified lava we went down to another village called Socaire (3,400 meters above sea level). We had lunch here, of vegetables grown in the old way on terraces. Part of the meal included beans that were like broad beans but really huge. They have used terraces since before the Incas and Spanish came. Water canals go for miles and irrigate the gardens.
On our last day in San Pedro we walked to am old Indian fort that was from pre Inca times. It was built on a hill overlooking the oasis of San Pedro and was overrun by the Spanish in 1540. It was a 3
km walk from the Cabanas through the desert and through some gardens watered by canal. The hostel dog went with us. Paul also went up to a monument dedicated to the lost Indians that was on another hill. The dog went also and Josie stayed below. Paul was feeling a bit short of breath because it was so high. When they came down the dog went and stood in a canal to cool his feet off.
We asked Mario, does it rain here? He said 'Of course, 5 days a year, always in the afternoon, sometimes for 5 minutes and sometimes for 2 hours.' One of our guides said he can remember it raining all night once. He can still remember the mud.
Off on another bus.
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Melissa
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Sounds amazing
Gee Aunty and Uncle you will both be stick figures when you get back the trip sounds amazing i keep up to date in reading the blogs. keep having fun and enjoying your time away. Alls going well at home Love and Hugs Melissa