Reading time 8 minutes.
I first heard about the Atacama Desert as one of the best places on Earth to look at the stars. The Chilean city of San Pedro de Atacama sits at the border of this dry desert (actually the driest nonpolar desert). We spent four days in this touristic city with a relaxed vibe. It was enough time to recover from our journey and go on a few excursions. Unfortunately, we could not enjoy the unique starry sky because it was a full moon. We will be back.
Thursday, Jun 20, 2024
We took the night bus from Salta, Argentina. At the border, Argentinian and Chilean immigration services are in the same building. They make a distinction between cars and buses. People entering by bus, labelled as poor people, wait a little longer.
There was not enough space to queue inside, so we waited for some time in the cold at an elevation 4000 meters while the wind was blowing. It took 2h30 to cross the border control. The organization was a bit chaotic, but people remain surprisingly civilized.
Looking out the window of the bus, we saw a dry landscape with small salt fields, and snow higher on the mountains. Clouds are few. Y had a cold. She could feel the ups and downs of the road with the pressure in her ears. Her light headache could be caused by the altitude.
Supermarkets were not at a reasonable walking distance from where we stayed in San Pedro de Atacama. But there were many mini markets around, which were like normal living rooms filled with products.
The Movistar prepaid Sim card we got for free worked with the OnePlus 5, but it was not compatible with the Pixel 7 pro. Just another compatibility issue with this relatively new phone.
We were surprised by the number of Brazilian visitors in Atacama. Since it is a big and rich neighboring country, I am not sure why we were surprised. The hostel was full of Brazilians, and we were recommended a tourist agency which provided services only catered to Brazilians.
In the afternoon, we booked four excursions over the next three days (two half-days and an entire day) and the 3 days 2 nights crossing to Uyuni with the agency White and Green Travel.
We heard about chachacoma, an Andean herb used for altitude sickness. We did not have the chance to try it. In Chile, the meal between lunch and dinner is called la(s) ‘once’. It looks similar to what they call ‘merienda’ in Argentina.
Friday, Jun 21, 2024
It was the first day of winter, the shortest day of the year.
We had a tour in the afternoon around Valle de La Luna. As we suspected, the agency, like most agencies in the city, does not operate all of its tours. Although it is more expensive, it is probably worth going with an agency that organizes all the tours it sells.
A couple of Australian travelers gave us recommendations in Bolivia, including biking on Death Road.
The landscapes of Valle de la Luna are out of this world. They reminded us of planet Arrakis in Dune. We skipped the Salt mines because we opted for the longer path to escape the crowds in Valle de la Luna.
We went to a sunset point of view. The colors in the sky were incredible.
Saturday, Jun 22, 2024
Dogs barked a lot that night. There are many stray dogs.
The pick-up time window is between 6:00 and 6:50, which feels too large when it is so early. Pick-up organization is pretty bad: “we arrive in a few minutes” means about 20 minutes later. Changing our sleep schedule is pretty tiring.
With low humidity in the air, you need to drink more water than usual (3 to 4 liters of water a day according to the guide, since it was cold, we were not that thirsty). Why don’t they provide some? Organized tours in Chile are pretty expensive and come with the bare minimum. Privatization of lands seems extreme; in most places, we had to pay entrance fees. We paid 100k pesos per person for the tour and an additional 75k for the entrances.
Colors did not feel real. They could be from a painter’s imagination.
The guide, Lulu, was excellent. I have to write it, otherwise I tend to only remember the bad guides. Among all the tour guides I had, the worst were men who did not care and do not respect the clients, like we had yesterday.
Laguna Chaxa
We saw two types of flamingos, and a dancing flamingo whose feet could not stop dancing.
The laguna is a victim of the mining industry in the region. The level of water is now too low for the flamingos to give birth. They talk about brine extraction, which is basically the salty water from the lake. The water/brine is used for lithium mining. The degradation of that environment is not going to stop anytime soon.
The driest non-polar desert is 100 km away in the direction of the Domeyko mountain.
A flamingo and a gaviota andino flew closely over us. It is beautiful when birds do that.
Flamingo nest are sculpted with their beaks and surrounded with water to protect the eggs from predators. Adult flamingos do not have predators here.
We saw Chilean flamingo (rose tail) and andino flamingo (dark tail).
On our way to Piedras Rojas, we had to check in Socaire, a small village of 80 persons, 80 percent working in the lithium mine and the remaining working at the check point.
A woman was knitting handcraft products with cactus needles.
Piedras Rojas
3900 meters of elevation.
We saw vicunas, guanaco and viscacha (a kind of bunny in the chinchilla family). Vicuna can drink very salty water.
Clouds get stuck at the summit of volcanoes.
The red colour comes from the iron element from the volcanic eruption of the sulphuric explosive volcano nearby. The water was half frozen. There are hotsprings nearby.
We walked for an hour, the wind was terribly strong, so it was pretty cold even if it was 12 °C.
Many years ago the site was freely accessible, apparently it became guarded after a French guy did some kite surfing in this protected area.
The industries in Atacama are mining and tourism.
The region around San Pedro de Atacama is not a desert, although the city is known as the entrance to the desert. Moon Valley is at the border of the desert. In the desert there are only mining, no tourism for now.
Laguna Altiplanica
4200–4300 meters of elevation.
Laguna Miscanti
Laguna Miñiques
Water is coming from the other lake (Laguna Miscanti)
We stop for suri, a kind of ostrich.
The landscape look like Patagonia steppa with volcanoes instead of mountains.
Ruta del Desierto pass by the Capricorn tropic. The group stopped to take the iconic picture of the road.
The guide and the Chileans have each other one kiss on the chick and a hug when they said goodbye. It was a very warm way to say goodbye, especially for people who have just met.
Sunday, Jun 23, 2024
In San Pedro, almost all houses are very basic constructions on a single floor.
Geysers Del Tatio
We wake up even earlier than yesterday to be at the geysers for the sunrise.
Geyser are hot springs with intermittent discharge of water and steam. They are by far more impressive when the air is cold. Temperature on the site is between minus 11 and minus 14. We go in the morning to see the columns of smoke due to the temperature difference.
Will we be with Lulu like the day before? No, we were with Victor, who spoke French and put pleasant and eclectic music in the van (for instance Julio Jalamillo).
There are more than a hundred geysers. It is the third-largest geyser field after Yellow Stone and Russia. The geysers are at 4300 meters of elevation.
The guide was convinced we should not heat the car to avoid a temperature shock. It was between -10 and -15 degrees. I guess we should not heat houses during winter in Quebec.
I actually ran just after getting out of the van as it was super cold in and out of it. The guide was pissed, we though it was because I did not wait for the group, but it was actually for my safety. The staff are very afraid when you run or make moderate physical exercise to keep you warm. The altitude probably affects some people.
The guide told us the tragic story of a Belgium couple. The woman fell in the geyser while taking a selfie, and died. Her husband tried to save her and lost both his arm.
We can see an abandoned geothermia project. Local inhabited protested against it. This place is kind of sacred for them.
It was surprising to sit on the ground and feel the heat coming from it.
There are different types of geysers: flat without sediment, with sediments, forming a cone.
Thermophile (literally heat lover) bacteria can survive in that environment where the temperature can reach 90 degree. They could be partly responsible for the colors we see.
Putana Volcano
We saw many animals around the lake: ducks, birds, and vizcacha.
Herds of vicunas consist of one dominant male and up to 15 (?) females and their young. Considered peaceful herbivores, the males fight to death by biting each other’s testicles. Male are expelled at around one-year-old. Male and female are the same size and have the same color, making the hard to distinguish. The male is in the front look for potential threats.
Machuca village
Oldest church in Chile. Many cities claim that. This village is very small and definitely more charming than the ones we saw before in Argentina and Chili. But these villages are not my cup of tea.
The guides told us many times a legend about the volcanoes Licancabur and Huriquez who were brothers. Kimal, who in now in the Domeyniko mountain range, stood between them. They fought over Kimal, Licancabur cut the Huriquez’s head, which can be found in Bolivia near Uyuni. Kimal left, but, on the 21st of June, the shadow of Licancabur touches kimal.
Recycled car tires painted white (to avoid overheating) are used as protections for plants.
The hostel
Manuel works at the hostel, he is one of the few Peruvians we met in San Pedro de Atacama. We had some interesting conversations in Spanish because he was very nice and patient.
We are not in the desert, but the sky is incredibly blue, and the air is dry and warm. The many cactuses in the accommodation add a charming touch.
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