Bienvenidos a San Pedro. Despues de 3 horas en bus de Antofagasta, llegamos a la ciudad. Fortunately, bus prices were extremely fair at only $25 for two people with "Semi-Cama", or fully reclined seating. The city maintains its very quaint atmosphere by imposing a strict building code on all new construction projects. As a result, you will not find any buildings taller than one story or any construction type other than Adobe.
After getting situated at our hostel, we immediately went for a walk around the town in search of a tour. I will take a brief moment to say that although accommodations, or alojamiento, are considered more expensive in San Pedro, we were able to stay at Hostal Elim (which had a private bathroom, despite the title of Hostal) for $100/night during the busiest season of the year - New Years.
After a nice empanada and some fresh maracuya juice, we started haggling with the local tour guides for the best package possible. We decided on going to Valle de la Luna, Valle de la Muerte, Geysers del Tatio, Termas Puritama, Lagunas Cejar, y Ojos del Dios.
Without wasting any time we set off in a bus (Transporte Jesus) for Valle de la Muerte. As you can see above, the scenery is amazing. Rainfall is considered sparse with an average level of precipitation of less than 5mm/year. However, in 2012 a heavy rainfall hit the area resulting in heavy flooding as there is no infrastructure for rainfall (spillways, retention ponds, storm-water drains). Roads washed out and local businesses were affected by lots of water damage.
Our "tour guide" was substituting for the regular guide who was "out sick", which we soon learned was a fairly regular occurrence; therefore, a lot of the information you find here may vary in accuracy or was looked up afterwards on the internet. What appears above to be dormant creek actually still retains a fair amount of moisture, and likely formed over a prolonged period due to the sporadic nature of the rain.
Admittedly, one of my favorite parts of this tour was hearing other extranjeros screaming as they started sinking in the crust. As the area started to dry after the most recent rain, the upper layer of mud dried first, creating a crust of varying thickness. With enough pressure in just the right spot, people started breaking through said crust and slowly sinking into the mud. Fortunately, beyond a few mud soaked shoes, everyone was alright.
After waking up at 4 AM for a 4:30 pick up, as you can imagine we were a little grumpy. To exacerbate the sentiment, after three phone calls and much unnecessary waiting, we were finally picked up at 5:30. One hour of our lives that we will never get back. Why so early you ask? The geysers are much more active in the half hour before sunrise (according to our guide) and the steam produced looks a lot cooler in the cool morning air. So after two hours of driving in a van that was not manufactured to accommodate people of my height, we arrived. Pictured above you will see the geysers just before sunrise.
Finally at the geysers we found that safety was...not as strict as it was when we went to Yellowstone in the US. Despite reports of several people dying every year from burns or ingestion of gaseous fumes, we still came across people jumping over the geysers between bursts and others hanging out amidst the expelled gases.
One of my favorite parts of this tour was the vast array of colors throughout the various geysers with some being evidently higher in particular chemical concentrations. Also a treat, the greenery that surrounded the geysers seemed a nice juxtaposition to the barren badlands we drove through to get there.
My favorite shot. You can see how the chemicals and sediment coming out form a cascading crust around the geyser.
As we left the geysers, we saw many shallow water ponds with a heavy odor of boiled eggs. Many of the ponds were warm to the touch and had a high amount of algae growing in them. Thanks to the algae growth, one can find everything from small fish to birds in the area.
Almost all of the woven or knitted products we came across were made from either alpaca or llama wool. They are incredibly friendly and very clean, as we found that they actually had a "bathroom" area where everyone did their business. What I didn't understand was the need for the corral as the lamas could easily jump over the barrier. We saw several just wandering in the area but no one seemed to be actively herding them.
On our way back we passed through several small parcels where the primary income was ranching. The region gets the majority of its water from runoff from the Andes.
One of the small Pueblos that we passed through on the way. The locals were definitely aprovechando the traffic from tourism by selling locally made products, my favorite of which was fried dough.
You can see how surprising it would be for a traveler passing through the hottest and driest desert in the world to come across this valley. Parece una aparacion.
The vehicle of my dreams - a diesel Mercedes-Benz shipping vehicle that was retrofitted for passengers and, according to the driver, had well over a million kilometers on the odometer.
After a long morning the standard American beer and pizza was the only thing on my radar. Thanks to the Chilean version, top heavy, I was definitely sated.
Early the next day we headed to the famous salt flats which were said to put the salt flats of Utah to shame.
I just wanted to share a sample of the breathtaking scenery that we saw. Many people will ask what there is to do in the middle of the desert but I think my response would be best put in the form of a picture.
First stop on the tour: saltwater lagoons. Of the three, one was off limits as it was being used for the reintroduction of pink flamingos (yes, some photos I am keeping for myself), one was somewhat painful to walk in due to the salt crystals on the bottom, and one was of an unknown depth (all previous attempts to measure the depth rendered the devices utilized insufficient for the pressure).
The bottomless one? Awesome. The saline levels were so high that we found it difficult to submerge ourselves and were left in a somewhat awkward semi-reclined position.
Prior to our trip to Chile, we had no more than 8 photographs together so when some Brazilian woman asked us to take a photograph of her and her family, we gave her one condition.
After the saltwater pools we were finally headed to the salt flats. While they may not have covered as large of an area, the white expanse of the salt flat was still awing set against the glacier blue sky and the almost green water that had yet to evaporate.
You can see the salt water receding in the background as the water slowly evaporates. One notable difference between the Salt Lake City salt flats is that the salt in San Pedro is still wet.
As a result, the water pools at the edges.
After so many recommendations, we finally booked a tour for the Valle de la Luna.
Starting with a quick walk through the valley, we noticed more salt deposits which were said to have originally been mined and used for salt in other parts of the country (before the common practice of desalinating saltwater and recycling the salt produced).
Yes, we went through a cave in an area with unpredictable tectonic activity. In hindsight, not the best idea.
The loch ness monster of the desert. Perhaps a geologist can explain this rock formation. I've got nothing.
We were informed that the area received heavy rainfall the previous summer but that the background of this photo was covered in a blanket of salt. The sporadic mounds of salt were another anomaly that our "guide" was unable to explain.
The one piece of information that our guide was able to provide was that the area was so much like the surface of the earth that NASA used it for early ROVer testing.
And as the sun started to set, we started a death march up the dunes.
While we waited for the end of the day, we watched the shadows grow and the winds gain strength.
Unfortunately, with all of the loose sand around, the strong winds resulted in a lot of sand in the face. However, it gave us a nice visual on the formation of the dunes. You can see in the photo above how the redistribution of sand may not take as long as we think.
El fin del dia.
And of course, the walk back to the Jesus Transporte van.
With only two days left, we decided to treat ourselves with a spa day.
One of the few local hot springs was converted into a pleasant local attraction: Termas Puritama.
With some planning of a local architect, the springs were crafted into seven pools of varying temperatures (plus an extra one that we made).
I can now say that there are at least 11 photographs of us, but none as dorky as this one. The tourist hats, as funny as they look, are a necessity here in the northern part of Chile due to a hole in the ozone that creates an extremely high level of sunlight. Indicators throughout Antofagasta indicate the intensity.
We took New Years Eve to relax around the city and do a bit of exploring. The cobblestone streets are another part of the local building code. In addition to making the city look rustic, they are extraordinarily effective at shifting during an earthquake and therefore avoiding unsightly cracks that are seen in pavement and cement after such quakes.
No pueblo is complete without its very own iglesia.
One of the interesting findings of said exploration was the cactus wood roof pictured above.
These creepy effigies were posted up around town in the evening in preparation for the new year. As we found out the next morning, they are set on fire right at midnight.
The city at midnight. Mainly tourists in the streets but plenty of locals helping to bring in the new year.
