The first bus took 12 hours from Valparaiso to Copiapo. This town is known for its proximity to where the 2010 storyline of thirty-three miners who got trapped underground for sixty-nine days. This capsule was used to hoist up each miner to fresh air.
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| home security system |
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| daily siestas closes down the town in the later part of the afternoon |
salty water underground gets pushed up to the surface. the water quickly evaporates, leaving a snow-like layer on the ground.
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| a solar kitchen- light rays are focused on the bottom of pan to cook meat |
Waking up at 3:30am has its rewards. A three hour drive places us in El Tatio, hot geysers at 14,000 feet. The morning chill allows the geysers to spew steam out their holes in the ground. Boiling water would shoot up, but get no more than twelve inches high.
There is a shallow pool to soak in that was just deep enough for my head to still be above the water as I walked along the surface of the pool. Unfortunately we were in the water before the morning sunshine reached us. There were two different temperatures in the pool The lower level was nice and toasty, but at torso level was a significant drop in warmth. It was warm, but definitely not hot. I moved closer to the heat source and all the water temperature was more consistent, though still cooler at the top level. I could only handle 15 minutes before spending another five minutes getting the nerve to leave the warmth. The big shock was when I got out of the water and race to the dressing room to dry off and put on warm clothes. Within five minutes of getting out, the sun reached the hot springs.
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San Pedro's high elevation and desert location makes it a perfect spot to stare up into space. Here is of photo of the moooooooooon, taken through a telescope at a planetarium outside of town.
The biking was great!!! As my bus rolled into San Pedro, a mountain bike competition was happening. I was in no condition to follow them on that day (because of the overnight bus ride), but I managed to find the trail the next day. The following photos were taken along the way. The trail lasted about fifteen kilometers before reaching the road back to town.
The trails were not particularly technical nor demanding, making it east to just stare out into the landscape while riding. It was here that I started imagining that the mountains were sprinkled with powdered sugar.
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| The trail was above a dune that was used by sandboarders. |
The next day, I chased the bikers on the next course, but failed to catch up to them. Perhaps it was because I gave them all a two hour head start? The trail went through salt-crusted dirt and rocks and halfway though was desert sand that went on for at least five long kilometers. Eventually I got back onto firmer terrain and the course led me to a salt lake. The lake is so salty that was I was able to float without fear of drowning
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To the west of town is La Valle de la Luna (the Valley of the Moon). The amount of salt on the rocks got me started on imagining the mountains now being coated with the kind of frosting that goes on those animal cookies that are sold in a pink bag.
I was fortunate to get a ride from a couple of people at the hostel who had a pickup truck for transportation. We were able to see the sunset. It had so much promise, but I think we chose a poor spot and did not see much of a spectacle that tour books write about. The skyline did change colors, but they were mute tones of pink and orange.
We went south of town the next day to check out the flamingos that hang out in the salt flats.
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| flamingos get pink because they spend all day poking their beaks in the water to eat these minuscule plankton |
Maybe it is because this was my last major adventure before having to make the journey back to the US, but the Atacama Desert and San Pedro may have been one of the my favorite spots on the whole voyage.
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