WONDERS OF THE ATACAMA DESERT

Monday, February 22, 2010

We have seen all of Antofagasta that we wanted to see and are eager to start one of the highlights of our trip; the Atacama Desert.
We enjoyed two relaxing days near the ocean and are ready to move inland, northeast to San Pedro de Atacama.
Once we are in the Atacama area, there will be so much to see, that we won’t be able to hop back and forth from the ocean to the desert, and need to prepare ourselves both mentally and physically. It’s is going to be very hot, dry and high.

All along the road are ruins of previous mining communities. Some newer mines are still operating, while others have been declared National Monuments. All that is left are bricks. Any metal or wood that once was part of the buildings has been removed and recycled. With the large number of clandestine housing, anything can be used.

The main form of both, communication and transportation in the early days was the railroad, today it is still a major part of transportation. Tracks run all along the country side, connecting one mining community with the other, all the way to the Pacific coast and into Bolivia.

The strong wind throws up a lot of sand, finding a shelter where we can have our lunch is tricky. We luckily find a spot to park the car along a small shack, near a Posada. Near the larger cities and along some of the main routes, these Posadas have been replaced with modern truck stops, with showers, restaurants, internet and accommodation. In the early days it was merely a  in the middle of nowhere, residence, providing food, fuel, some supplies and a place to sleep. Often these places were tiny shacks with a bed, behind the main building.


Just as we are having our lunch, we are startled by a huge explosion.When we look up, we see a  huge plume of smoke. Ramiro explains, that in order to extract the ore from the rocks at the open pit mines they need to break them up with a dynamite explotion.

In many places there are excavations with the rocks and sand piled up along the pit, exposing a rainbow of colours from all he minerals in the soil.

After 2 hours on the road we turn southeast. We are getting closer to Argentina. Our destination is San Pedro de Atacama. We decide to bypass Calama and leave that area for on the way back.

See map of Northern Chile


All along I thought we were already in the desert. Ramiro was not joking when he told me a while back: “You have seen nothing yet”. It is getting serious. Nothing put large plains and hills of sand and dust storms, under a beautiful blue sky.  The road ahead of us is one long, never ending straight line. We continue to climb and are up to 2500 meters when we start feeling the effect of the altitude. Breathing becomes a bit more difficult and the heartbeat is faster.
As we get closer to the Valley of the Moon, we are surprised by  a great view of the salt flats, where millions of years ago was once an ocean.

We only stop for a brief moment to admire the  view and move quickly to San Pedro to find accommodation.

Although the town is nothing but hotels, hostels, restaurants and tourism offices. it is difficult to find something suitable. We settled for a hostel. Which has both a building with private rooms - some with and some without bathroom - as well as in the back of the property some cute little cabins. Unfortunately no cooking facilities. We settle for one of th newest cabins with a little patio in front where we can have our simple meals from our cooler.

Officially, a Hostel is suppose to have a communal Kitchen, but in many places, there is either no kitchen, or they will only allow us to use it to make some coffee or tea, as  in this case. It really is a question of asking in advance.

San Pedro de Atacama is at 2,450 meters above sea level, near the north side of the great salt deposit of Atacama. Located in one of the many oasis originated by the Bolivian winters, in the driest desert of the world.
It is incredible therefore to find a place with so much exhuberating vegetation.

The history of this area dates back from 11,000 BC, the age of the oldest human remains are found here.

This pre-Incan community is maintained as much as possible as it was in the past. Behind its adobe walls are vegetable gardens, restaurant patios, art galleries and a variety of accommodations with parking lots and some commercial properties such as automotive repair and ambulance. From the outside, you have no idea what you will find behind these walls. All you see is red brick, sand and wooden gates.

There are very few vehicles on the road. Most tourists come with public transportation. Those who come with their own vehicle, park them at their accommodation behind the walls and explore on foot or bicycle or take one of the many tours available.

Young people carry huge back packs and find a place to camp behind the adobewalls.
There are very few children. We hear, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese and other languages. Other than Patagonia, this is one of the main tourist attractions of Chile.

After settling in, we walk into town to explore and eat under the stars in one of the many rustic restaurants with their hidden patios. There is so much to see, we have difficulty deciding what to do tomorrow. We buy tickets for a tour to the Flamingo reserve and try to get a good night’s sleep.

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