Into the Desert, Part I

Getting to the desert was more difficult than I thought it would be. I left Chillan on Friday, July 11 at 3:00 p.m. and we didn't arrive in San Pedro de Atacama until 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 12. Lukas and Megan, traveling from Los Angeles, met me in Santiago after a scare in which their bus got a flat tire and we were not sure they were going to make it in time to catch the bus to San Pedro. Aside from a two hour layover in Santiago, I spent all of that time on a bus. The real kicker was that on my trip up to Santiago, I tried to turn on my ipod and the damn thing wouldn't turn on. Yep, the dreaded moment has finally arrived. My ipod is dead. R.I.P., old friend. I have been expecting this to happen while I was in Chile, especially since it has been a little fussy lately. I wish it could have held out a little longer, especially considering all the buses I sat in on my two week adventure. Oh well. I tried to look on the bright side. At least I would be more present to chat with people on the bus!

This, too, backfired! From Santiago to Calama I sat next to this daft old woman who drove me a little nuts. At first I thought she was kind of cute. She needed help using her cell phone and working her reclining chair. However, after she tapped my leg at three different intervals in the night to get up and use the restroom, her cuteness had worn off and I was more or less ready to boot old piddle puss out of seat 7! This, combined with the fact that she was rather chatty and I didn't understand a word of what she said because she was old and kind of mumbled and I am not a native speaker. Then things got weird. She asked for my phone number, which I gave her, and then she proceeded to call me five times while we were on the bus! I was supremely confused. I kept telling her, okay, I've got your number! She just looked at me and returned my puzzled look with a grin. I was relieved when she got off in Calama, and I rode the final hour and a half to San Pedro in much appreciated peace.

As for the rest of my bus companions, they left a little something to be desired. In Copiapo, a group of about six gringo backpackers got on the bus and filled the seats surrounding me. They were the kind of Americans that made me ashamed to share their nationality. They were the sort that expect the world to bend to their will. For example, a guy and his girlfriend wanted to sit together, but they had bought tickets to seats 1 and 3. They tried to just sit where they wanted, but the bus employee needed to sit in seat 2 so he could do his job. Well, you would have thought the world was ending. The girl huffily switched seats, and then she and her boyfriend woke up the man sleeping in seat 4 to see if he would switch with them! Of course, they didn't speak Spanish very well, so this all created a lot of confusion, and when the man had enough and went back to sleep, one of the gringos said very sarcastically, "Gracias, señor!" My face was red with shame and outrage. Eventually the man woke back up and seats were switched, but I noted that he had much less legroom in seat 1. Obviously, my sympathies lie with him.

We arrived in Calama and got settled in our hostel, with one hitch. Lukas didn't reserve a bed at our hostel, so he boarded up in one across the street. The next day, we woke up and lolled about in the gazebo of our hostel, making plans for the day. We decided to get aquainted with San Pedro, and took a stroll around the streets. San Pedro is a tiny town in the desert that, from what I can tell, survives almost soley on tourism. This leads to the usual annoyances, which for us included gringos at every turn, high prices for food, and everyone trying to sell you something. However, there was one or two main streets catering to tourists, and then we walked even one block beyond and discovered a very laid back, comfortable and cute town.

This is the church in San Pedro, with a roof made of cactus wood, which I think is endlessly cool.


Here is a typical street in San Pedro; the early hour that the photo was taken means the streets were not yet swarmed by tourists!

So, what did we decided to do with our Sunday after exploring San Pedro? We decided to rent bikes and ride them out into the desert, to a destination called Valle de la Luna, known for its lunar landscapes and breathtaking sunsets. I was mildly horrified by this plan since I haven't been on a bike in years and am more than a little out of shape. Plus, we were at high altitude! Despite my frequent proclamations to Lukas that I am a slow rider, he was a good coach, we soon found ourselves on bikes headed into the sandy hills. We were accompanied by Pat and Ivonne, a darling Swiss couple we met at our hostel.

On the road! Ivonne, Megan, Lukas and Pat.

The scenery we gazed at on our ride. The cordillera surrounding San Pedro is littered with volcanoes.


Our first stop was a rock formation that had been carved by flowing waters that blasted through the volcanic rock. Left behind were little caverns and trails, all capped by the white spray of salt. We took the quick 20-minute hike through the trails and caverns.

My traveling companions starting our trek into the caverns.


A typical vista on our hike. We ended up entering the cave you see pictured, which went so far that we needed the lights of our cell phones to find our way out the other side. I love how the rocks look like they've been sprinkled with powdered sugar.


Pat and Ivonne tackle a cavern. In several spots we had to crawl on our hands and knees, which gave me a lovely scrape on my wrist. Battle scars!


After our short hike, we hopped back on our bikes and rode them up a huge hill, which I think would be more appropriately called a mountain. I pussed out and walked my bike most of the way up, which surprisingly didn't take that long. Our next stop was the parking lot of Valle de la Luna, choked with tour busses, bikes, and tourists. We then hiked up a sandy path and crested a hill which provided the vistas of the surrounding valley and its extraterrestrial landscapes.

Ascending.


A vista of the Valle.

Me, utterly destroyed by the bike ride and subsequent sandy ascension, posing for a photo op. I loved how smooth the sandy hill behind me was.


Lukas awaiting sunset from our perch.


The sun going down, casting a rosy glow on the distant volcanoes.


Hazy and getting darker.


After the sun went down and we felt satisfied with the views, it got cold, fast, so we quickly hopped back on our bikes and got the hell out of there! The ride back was long, and a bit unnerving since we were riding in the dark without flash lights as tour buses and other cars zoomed past. The light of the moon was mostly sufficient, although every so often the road would get rough, which was surprising in the dark. I hung back and went my own pace, and was rewarded with the sight of a shooting star. An hour or two later, we reached the hostel, starving. We tried to make beans and rice, but we hadn't soaked the beans long enough and forgot how long water takes to boil at high altitudes. Luckily, I had some peanut butter with me, which got us through the hunger until dinner was more or less ready.

Pat and Ivonne, being from Switzerland, had never tried peanut butter before. Here he is contemplating his first bite!


His reaction? "It's horrible!"


Meagan and Luke eating their beans and rice in our hostel's kitchen cabana.