Up on high

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Continuing in zig-zag fashion, we once again crossed the Andes over to San Pedro de Atacama, a dusty little spot on the edge of the Atacama desert. The Paso de Jama (pass) was a good deal over 4000m and, for the first time, we really felt the effects of altitude. We both got raging headaches and I couldn´t feel my hands or my feet for some of the time.

A guy told us that we really shouldn´t drink alcohol if we are feeling the altitude. He got drunk in Cusco and stayed drunk for a week. We heeded his advice, stuck to our bottled water and headed to bed.

Good thing too, as the next day we were up at 3:30 am to head out to the Tatio geyser field. They go at that time because it is the coldest time of the day, and the geysers are more spectacular. It was on this trip that we met a group of Germans who we affectionately named´Darwin´s crowd´. On arrival at the geysers, one of the guys looked at the bubbling pit of water and promptly stuck his hand in it. We watched, astounded, as he yelped and jumped back, only to see his friend do the same thing. These guys seemed intent on killing themselves and put their faces in amongst the geysers that occasionally spat out boiling steam.

Later in the day, we visited the Valley of the Moon, which is a canyon just out of San Pedro. Darwin´s crowd were in attendance and wandered up in amongst the caves that our guide had just described as too dangerous to venture into. The guide just shook his head and laughed. ´I tell them it is dangerous, they think I say lets go´.

The Valley was quite out of this world and we climbed up a giant sand dune to a ledge to watch the sunset. We had a great view of the volcanoes that line the Andes and watched the sun roll up the sides.

We also visited the valley of Death, which sounds incredibly exciting. Disappointingly, there isn´t anything particularly morbid about this place to deserve such a name. Instead, it originated from a good old fashioned misinterpretation. Some jesuit called it the Valley of Mars (to complement the valley of the Moon). The Spanish for Mars and death are apparently quite similar and it has been known as the Valley of Death ever since. I suspect that if more and more tourists keep coming here, they will invent some great story to accompany it.

Unfortuntately, I don´t have any photos of either Valley. My adaptor plugs have gone missing (most likely pinched by a fellow traveller) so I can´t charge the camera unless I find others with the same cradle (-thanks Jem and Nicky!), or find another one. Hopefully soon.

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Photos

Little pueblo
We tried llama kebabs, so yummy. Note the solar panels on the roofs.

Ben feeling the effects of altitude
(and that of a good haircut and shave...)

Highest hotpools?
Only problem was, once you were in, you didnt want to get out, given it was about -10 degrees outside.

Comments

[james st. james]

women are from venus
the spanish word for mars is "marte", the spanish word for death is "muerte". "valle de marte" must have become "valle de la muerte". ¡cheers!