Thursday, January 01, 2009

San Pedro de Atacama

Here`s one I've been forgetting to post...

Winter holidays in July gave me the opportunity to go to Atacama desert in the north of Chile, the driest desert in the world.

Some of my work collegues had planned this trip and asked me to come along shortly after I arrived in Santiago. Closer to the time, I was wary of spending eight days with all these 'crazies', but eager to get away from the pollution and bleakness of Santiago's winter.

We stayed in San Pedro, a small town, seemingly made solely for tourism. After eight days, we knew everybody in town and saw pretty much all there was to see, but I certainly could have stayed longer. It was so nice to see the big sky again. The scenery was stunning, and I managed to get some time out on my own, too.



So long ago now that I can't remember the reason behind this thermal spring, but it was very deep and only the top part was hot and from my waist down, it was freeeeezing. Very strange. Although it was salty enough to float, we had to keep treading water to stay at a nuetral temperature.
Jen made us these crazy hats and scarves... we stood out, but they certainly kept us warm.
Geysers... springs shooting out of the freezing cold ground... at least my feet were freezing. We had to leave at 4 am to get to the site and see the steam.
A couple of hours later... geysers still very cool.
Vicuña.. endangered and lovely to see, but they blended quite well into the rocks.



Me gusta flamingos!!


Small community where we stopped for a llama bbq. Poor llama... but tasty!

Karen, who is somewhere around the 65 or 70 mark (she won't say for sure) was more active than the rest of us... even taking a side-trip in a 4x4 to Bolivia. Where that girl gets her drive I`ll never know.

When I saw these horses galloping in the desert, I knew I had to do it too. I went to tourist agency and said in broken Spanish 'I want to gallop in valle de muerte'. When I arrived the next day, I saw the team of old, almost dead horses and one very spirited horse. The other riders were beginner's, not unlike myself, but they had saved a special horse for me. This horse did not like being behind any other horse and often took off despite my pulling on the reigns. There was no galloping, it seemed more like it as running for it's life. At one point, I had to be saved by the guide as my saddle was falling sideways and my foot loose... must have been a site. No wonder it's called 'Death Valley'.

Sandboarding is all the rage with the young hipsters. Most of them couldn't get down the hill without falling... like in slow motion. Funny.


I really do love flamingos!














Valle de Luna, Moon Valley, really does look like the moon.






Did I mention my fondness for flamingos?




Not sure I've ever seen such beautiful scenery as in the Atacama desert. It was good to get to know my colleagues, despite my inability to kep up with them as far as drinking goes anyway. Amazing scenery and memories to last a lifetime.

10 Comments:

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Thanks for letting us share in your adventures with your pictures and commentary. I am seeing amazing parts of the world from the comfort of home. Fantastic!
Mom

 
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