Continuing onwards from the salt flats at Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, we crossed the border into northern Chile and faced a similarly surreal Martian landscape in San Pedro de Atacama. The Atacama Desert is known for being the driest place on Earth and some parts of the desert have gone without rainfall for over 500 years. We came over from Bolivia with our French friend Sebastien who we had met in Uyuni, and stayed together at a hostel in the small town of San Pedro that serves as a gateway into the desert. San Pedro was pleasant, despite that we felt like we were seeing Texas flags on every street corner (the Chilean flag shares a striking resemblance), and that the touristy town almost had a theme-park vibe. During the late afternoons, the desert heat became unbearable and the concept of a midday siesta was well-understood and much appreciated.
Neil and I took two major excursions into the Atacama Desert during our spontaneous stopover in Chile. The first was a group tour to various sights and curiosities within the desert which culminated in a sunset viewing over the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). Along the way we stopped in the Valle de Muerte (Valley of Death), which is named due to a combination of a mispronunciation of its name in the indigenous language, and also that accidental fatalities occurred there during the mining era. Our guide was a carefree young dude who delighted in scaring us with his driving and standing next to sheer cliffs (parents reading this: he scolded anyone else that tried these antics and was genuinely concerned for all of our safety). Our next stop was at a nearby canyon with a broad view over the barren yet beautiful landscape, with an overhanging rock outcropping which was known as “Coyote Rock” for its likeness to the cliffs which Wile E. Coyote would frequently run off of in his infinite quest to catch the Roadrunner. We then made our way to Cuevas de Sal Cañon (Canyon of Salt Caves) which is a winding system of tiny canyons and caves formed by ancient water courses and composed of crystallized salt embedded in the stone walls. After crawling and exploring throughout the salt caves, we then made a stop at some bizarre rock formations called the Tres Marias (Three Marias)—known in recent years as the 2 ½ Marias after a tourist gave one of them an enthusiastic hug, causing it to collapse. Our final destination was the Valley of the Moon to watch a breathtaking sunset and moonrise over the desert dunes and distant Cordillera. I couldn’t resist a little hooping as we watched the sun sink to the fitting soundtrack of “Desert Dwellers,” and eventually we descended back into San Pedro as darkness crept in.
Our next outing was a swimming trip to visit some of the rare few lakes within the arid desert. Much like those we saw at Salar de Uyuni, the high-altitude brightly colored lakes were crusted with salt and home to vibrant flocks of flamingos. One of the first stops we made was to two turquoise swimming holes called Ojos del Salar (Eyes of the Salt Pan) which are two small freshwater ponds right next to each other that are incredibly deep and great for frolicking. Several cannonballs later, we made a stop at another oasis called Laguna Cejar. The lagoon is as salty as the Dead Sea, meaning it is impossible to sink and even those that can’t swim are completely safe to enjoy the crystal waters. We joked about doing a sensory deprivation float in the tranquil atmosphere and thought that cousin Sandra would approve. Afterwards our hair and swimsuits were completely covered in salt, and so we rinsed off before turning white. As the sun set overhead, our same tour guide brought out pisco sours (the national cocktail) for the group and we all enjoyed drinking them and then taking goofy pictures.
The Atacama Desert was a good introduction to Chile, and quickly got us into the mindset of how expensive everything will be after leaving Bolivia. We left San Pedro for the Argentinian leg of the trip, but look forward to coming back soon enough!
*Update: Mika’s photo from this gallery was featured on Hooping.org!