Desert buffet

As if we hadn't packed enough into yesterday, we were treated to an earthquake before bed!  Just a little one (it was actually quite a big one, 5.8, a distance away) but the earth did keep shaking for longer than I'm used to in California.  Or maybe it was all the pisco sour cocktails I'd been drinking.

Today we decided to see exactly what this region has to offer.  We filled the tank with petrol - a process that took 30 minutes in this somewhat rural outpost - and drove off into the wild blue yonder.  The contrast in landscapes only tens of miles apart is breathtaking, and we stopped the car every few minutes simply to walk around and take pictures.

Our first major destination was a flamingo reserve.  I'd seen these birds quite recently, in the casino that bears their name in Vegas, but these were real and wild!  They also didn't seem the least bit interested in us, and wandered about filling their beaks with the tiny shrimp which (I believe) give them their pink colour.

From their we headed up and up into the mountains, to 4,200m (13,800ft) to visit a couple of freshwater lagoons.  The dry deserts gave way to canyons, tiny villages, rocks of all different colours, and finally snow as we got to the top.  We decided to test the affects of altitude by running uphill, and I'm not sure my pulse rate has returned to normal even now.

The moon was rising as we free-wheeled back down to denser oxygen, stopping only to say hello to a wild donkey.  Back in San Pedro de Atacama we became involved in a drug deal.  More on that later.

First up: scrub, and some extinct volcanoes in the background.

Things are a bit dry down here.

Being silly.

Being more silly.

After that, Hannah decides she needs a lie down.

A lot of the desert around here is salt, and here's a sample!

A local, who never lacks for seasoning on his food.

Look!  Flamingos!  Real wild ones!

On the wing.

Synchonised scooping.

Some slightly more domesticated dwellers of the region.

"You are now entering the middle of nowhere.  GPS signal lost."

Looking back down on the desert plain.  The white patches out there are salt flats.

Up in the highlands.

Things are a little chillier here.

Snow angels.

This is the tourist information centre.  No joke.



But they do helpfully clear the signs.

The lagoon at 13,800ft.

This is a holiday cottage that you can rent.  Ask for details at the tourist information centre.

Sorry Pete and Fini, but not on this trip...

The moon rises as we descend.

We got a "ciao" from a burro on the way home.

Valle de la Luna

Just outside San Pedro is the Valle de la Luna, the Valley of the Moon, so called because walking around it you could be on another planet.  The rock formations seem to be mostly made of salt, and jut out from the many sand dunes and rocky shelves at irregular angles.  One of the big draws is to be here for sunset, to watch the many colours change as the shadows lengthen.

We had some time to kill before the sun went down and decided to take a look at the salt caves.  There's a narrow canyon made of scarily pointy rocks which leads to a 60 metre tunnel through the hills.  Luckily our ever-prepared guides had brought a torch, and we scrambled through before climbing back overground and walking up a big dune to find a choice spot to watch the sun.

We caught the whole show on top of a long ridge until darkness fell and the winds began to whip up.  Feeling clever, we decided to exit by the park's far gate, only to find it locked and chained.  We dashed back, admiring the stars that were starting to appear in their thousands, and managed to get out just ahead of a group of cyclists (!) and their support vehicle.

Well, I can honestly say I have never seen anything like the landscape around here in my life.  So here's a taster of the first 500 photos I've taken:

Entering the Valley of the Moon.

Stepping into the canyon.

See, it's all made of salt!

Hannah among the rocks.

Twisty.

The walls are closing in.

Into the dark cave.

There was a sky-light half way along. 

Underground.

Hannah heads into the light.

The moon above the valley.

See?  This place is incredible.

Making our way down.

And then back up this big dune!

It's like a Windows XP wallpaper, Ignacio commented.

More moon.

Hiking up to see the sun.

Getting near the dusty top.

Looking down at the desert.

Expectant.

A desert view.

And another.

And another, as the shadows creep longer.

Last glimmer of sun.

Ignacio and Silvi keep each other warm as the temperature drops.

Colour changes.

The desert does strange things to the mind.

Darkness falls.

Looking from one luna to another.

I made it through the wilderness

With wonderful Calama ever receding in the rear view mirror, we took the desert roads out to a town called Chiu-Chiu (not choo-choo, Silvi says, but "tiu-tiu".  Still, Chileans are renowned for their bad Spanish pronunciation).  Here is the oldest church in Chile, although I might have said that about one we saw in Santiago.  I can confirm that this is older, made from adobe, and by the banks of the Loa River, Chile's longest.  We were even treated to the town's school children practicing their independence day parade.

From there we trekked out to Laguna Chiu-Chiu, a strange desert pool, almost perfectly circular, and 80 metres deep.  The water is very clear, and you can see how its vertical sides drop away.  As the only large body of water for several hundred kilometres it was a surprise to see a few ducks swimming about.  Maybe they're on holiday like us.

Ignacio, who was the only one of us looking good on four hours sleep, then drove us to San Pedro de Atacama, slap bang in the middle of the high desert, and our place of lodging for the next three nights.  They have very tight building restrictions to keep the look and feel of the town as authentic as they can - adobe, wood, and stone are about the only materials allowed.  It is back packer heaven, a slice of desert life but with plenty of bars, hostels and wi-fi.  Silvi and Ignacio had cheekily but wonderfully booked us into a rather plush hotel, where we relaxed and kicked the dust from our boots before a sunset excursion to the nearby Valley of the Moon.

A parade?  To welcome us?

San Francisco de Chiu-Chiu

The roof is made from dried cactus.

Our Lady of Chile.

The Loa River.  The longest, not the fiercest.

Getting directions.

Out by the lagoon.

A mirage?

Our desert hosts.

Hannah is king of the world!

Yep, desert.

I've found my new house!  Just need to get the Internet in there.

The long road.

Looking down on the Valley of the Moon.  More on that later.

Hannah dries out.

Silvi models.

San Pedro de Atacama.  Not much to look at, but very nice.

Relaxing in the pool.  It's freezing - I got Hannah to take the photo then I jumped out.