San Pedro De Novo

Having been to San Pedro in the Atacama Desert once before, we were able to skip the hassles and take our visiting families straight to the good stuff.

We started off their trip with the Lagunas Altiplanicas. We'd been here when we came previously but as we now had a car, we were able to explore at our own (at the children's) pace.

Equipped with a new telephoto lens and some very quiet children, we sneaked close enough to the flamingos to scare them off and photograph them at the same time. What many people may be surprised to find out is that their pink color actually comes from what they are eating in this highly saline water. Zoos must feed the a well balanced diet in order to maintain their color in captivity.

After that we were off to the salt flats. Weird though right? No salt. We were here six months prior and there was a lot of salt! So where did it all go?! Well as it turns out, we had previously come in the "dry season". Evidently there's also a "rainy season" in the driest desert on earth...

As some of our crew started to run out of moisturizer and were seeking relief, we decided to head up to the Termas Puritamas. If you opt to take your own car instead of one of the many overpriced shuttle services, please ensure that you have: extra gas, an inflated spare tire, all of the tools required to replace said spare tire, tow hitches, straps to pull another vehicle, and another vehicle that you can use to pull you out of "sticky" situations.

Once you arrive you will find that the price is around $15,000CLP to get in but vale la pena. Coming in the "rainy season" we were almost the only people there.

A definite must while you are in San Pedro is a walk through all of the streets. With just a few hours you should be able to see all of the beautiful adobe buildings and peruse the offerings of all of the local vendors (lots of local artists as well).

An area so desolate that NASA used it to test rovers for use on Mars and the moon? Valle de la Luna.

It's hard to remember that the fields of fresh snow are actually fields of salt left behind from when this area was once under water.

If you have the option, try to time it so that you're there for the sunset. A few spots throughout the valley will provide you with some amazing views (ask the park officials for advice).

Hornitos and Poso Verde

If you have any desire to learn surfing or just want a great weekend trip within driving distance from Antofagasta, Hornitos is a great choice. Accommodating a wide range range of surfers, Hornitos beach is mostly known for beach breaks; however, it can also provide larger swells depending on the season and weather conditions.

In addition to this, there are no laws prohibiting camping on the beach, making it a great weekend destination for the frugal. There is a large public dump a few minutes up the highway on the mountain side where you should be able to find some wood.

I should add however that unless you are well prepared to dig your car out of the sand or have a vehicle with four wheel drive, I would not recommend driving on the beach. We chanced it because we were with a fellow with a winch who could have pulled us out but stories of getting stuck are countless.

If you're looking for better waves and a nice smooth cove break, you can drive about two minutes up the highway from the northern entrance to Hornitos. You will see a path that makes you wonder whether it is actually a path and will likely damage your car driving down the washboard like surface

If you make it to the end of this rocky road you will be welcomed by a healthy left break, a right break, and sometimes even penguins to Poso Verde.

A Quick Jaunt up Coloso

No one will tell you how to get there. In fact, most people will look at you somewhat strangely after you mention the words "casually hike Coloso". Antofagasta is a city uniquely situated between the mountains and the ocean. If you were to look east at the city from the ocean you would see a beautiful panorama framed on the north by Cerro Moreno, and on the south by Coloso.

After having already scaled Cerro Moreno a few friends and I decided to check out the southern vantage point: Coloso. With two Canadians and a few sandwiches we decided to get an early start:

After we finally found the trail (just keep walking up until you see something like this), the Canadian mountain goats set the pace and we started climbing.

About halfway up we caught our last glimpse of Antofagasta.

"Can we slow down? Take a break maybe? This seems like a good spot to have lunch." Not to say that we were being mocked, but the word "imitated" might not have been far from the truth.

At some point you do start to wonder why you're doing this. You may ask yourself, "Have I brought enough water?" It is the driest place in the world by the way. Think you'll need two liters? Better make it four.

Then five minutes later, there you are! In the foreground you can see where we hiked a few months before: Cerro Moreno. Antofagasta is somewhere in between. And to the right. Because we parked on the beach, our change in elevation calculation was fairly easy: 936 meters.

After a refreshing lunch and a bit of instant coffee we decided to hit the road and 

Time for an empanada and some schop.

Pisco Elqui, Elqui Valley

A brief 50 minute flight to the south of Antofagasta lies La Serena. From there, you walk across the street (the side heading towards the mountains) and flag down the first bus that says Vicuna or Pisco Elqui. Expect to pay $1.500 CLP per person to Vicuna or $3.000 CLP per person to Pisco Elqui. The busses to Vicuna are more frequent and doing the trip in two legs doesn't cost you anything but a brief 5 minute layover in Vicuna.

If you are fortunate enough to land in the early evening hours you may enjoy the same sunset that we did: one that set the mountains ablaze. 

Once in Pisco Elqui, I would highly recommend lodging in the Balcones de Pisco Elqui. Not only is it an economical option but the owner, Guillermo, is bilingual, friendly, and great at maintaining the facilities in immaculate condition. In order to avoid false advertising I should note here that the above building is not the recommended lodging, but one that you should stop by along the main drive.

Coming from the coastal desert of Antofagasta, going for a stroll through wine country on a brisk morning was a treat. The area sees year round tourism but the adventurers seeking a more isolated vacation should plan to visit between March and September. Although you will find the vines dormant, the view is no less spectacular.

Pisco Elqui is located in the heart of the Elqui valley and provides a great basecamp for walking (or renting cheap bicycles and cycling) along the valley.

Two things that you can never seem to forget about in chile: Carabineros and street dogs. This little fellow accompanied us all the way to Tres Nichos distillery.

After seeing poinsettias only once a year and eternally confined to small pots, finding them thriving in the high valley was a bit surprising.

Chile is the largest pisco producer (and consumer) in the world. All of these vineyards fuel either the pisco distilleries or the wineries along the valley.

Perhaps now you are starting to understand why this retreat was such a refreshing change from the sun-bleached coast of Antofagasta.

When they ran out of space on the valley floor, they started building up. The entire region is covered with terraced estates growing either grapes or olives.

Another thing that we were not accustomed to in Antofagasta: wildlife.

Sheep act to keep the bugs, weeds, and low grasses at bay while fertilizing the fields for the next season.

Plus they're cute

Originally the Tres Nichos distillery, the Fondos los Nichos offers a free tour and tastings several times throughout the day.

They have an extensive cellar for aging and cooling the piscos and wines that they sell.

Back on the Earth's surface, we found the rest of the distillery still utilizing an old International Harvester for daily use.

We were warned that it might snow that day but it wasn't until our walk back towards town that we gave the thought any consideration. As the clouds briefly parted we caught a glimpse of the snow covered mountains that flank the valley.

Graffiti art is something that, as you may recall from my earlier post from Valparaiso, is very common in Chile. The shop paid the artist to decorate her otherwise barren and colorless wall.

We found out later that the artist was fairly popular throughout Pisco Elqui.

Let the record state that it was this moment in time when I realized that the one thing missing in my life was a Unimog.

Inside the Igelesia Pisco Elqui

Along with grapes, locals produce a fair amount of pomegranates, avocados, oranges, and figs.

On our last day in town we decided to check out the "Mirador".

Little did we know that we missed the turn at the base of the hill and accidentally found ourselves on more of a trek.

A trek that led here.

Most of the snow melt is captured during the spring for irrigation purposes. You can see the difference between the natural landscape to the left and the lightly modified one to the right. The sandy soil is great for growing grapes because of its fast draining nature. 

When we finally found our way back down to town we were greeted by a 4 horse salute.

This photo may be worth downloading just to see the degree of detail that went into making the beautiful tile-mosaic of Gabriela Mistral.

With time left before our bus, we followed the ridge down to Montegrande.

Very little wall space was left untouched.

One of the smaller estates in the region. When they outgrew their small acreage they bought the mountain and just started building up.

The options in town were limited so we (regretfully) chose a restaurant on the main square before catching the bus home.