Atacama

The Atacama desert is like nothing I have ever seen before. I had no idea the extent of the variety in the desert. At sunset the colors of the mountains turn from orange to red to purple to blue. At different elevations the small plants turn from yellow to brown to red to nonexistant. The towering cactus that line the gorges are hundreds of years old, one meter is the equivalent to 100 years of growth. The little water that comes down from the Andes carves giant gorges and brings to life few oasis where life continues simply and slowly despite the swarms of tourists that flock the streets. The incredible rock formations made me jealous of my geology major friends. Just trying to comprehend the forces that went behind creating the Atacama is mind-boggling. When we went to see the Flamingos in the salt flats there must have been a thousand other tourists watching the sunset with us. I swear that there must have been four bus loads of Germans. I haven't seen so many blond-haired, blue-eyed people in months.

The first day here we went to the Valle de la Luna, an incredible spot just outside of San Pedro de Atacama where the salt formations and sand dunes give the impression of a lunar landscape. Other highlights included seeing the highland salt flats just 5km from the Bolivian border, seeing geisers go off as the sunrose, exploring Inca ruins at sunset, seeing the oldest excavated village in Chile, and drinking wine in a hot spring as my parents watched, bundled in their winter clothing bearing huge sandswept winds. Going to the all-inclusive resort with the parents was quite an experience, nah, a once-in-a-lifetime-experience. The service and accomadations were otherworldly, nothing like the hostalling that I am used to. As fun as the private guide and service was I am ready to start making my own adventures again. However, in San Pedro that seemed to be very difficult as everything was done by a guide service with 25 other tourists sharing the windy bus ride to the locals.

The desert was beautiful and unforgettable. So are the 400-plus photos that I took. Here are a few and the rest can be found on my Picasa Page.

More Updates to come on Valle Nevado.