Expedition to the Atacama
This past weekend we hopped on a plane and headed up north once again. However, instead of Iquique, this time we were headed to the Atacama desert. We stayed in a hostel in San Pedro de Atacama, the main town where all the tourist agencies and restaurants are located.
We took an early flight Friday morning and got settled into our accommodations at around noon, then walked into town to check out the tour situation. Turns out, there are over 80 different tourist agencies in this one town, each offering pretty much the same tours. However, we had read a few reviews before coming that highly recommended Cactus Tours and decided to go with them. I too would highly recommend them, all of their tours had fantastic, knowledgeable guides; some tours don’t have guides, instead they only have drivers that drop you off to take pictures and don’t know a thing about the sites.
The first day we went to Valle de la Luna, an afternoon tour that involved a few short hikes and watching the sun set over the mountains. The giant sand dunes and otherworldly rock formations were unlike anything I have ever seen. It’s hard to adequately describe the scenery, so here are a few pictures:
The next day we got up at the ungodly hour of 5:30am to beat the crowds to the Lagunas Altiplánicas. Our first stop was the flamingo habitat. Yes, apparently there are flamingos that live in the driest desert in the world. Go figure.
We then traveled to an elevation of over 4000 meters to see the high altitude lagoons. For the driest desert in the world, there seems to be a whole lot of water. But I’m not complaining. The Lagunas Altiplánicas might just be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.
All in all, quite a weekend. If you ever go to Chile, go here. There are many more photos where these came from, you can check them out at my Picasa site.
More travels to come soon; this weekend I am headed to Cajon de Maipo again to go camping, then after that off to Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, Temuco (the South), Buenos Aires, and hopefully Chiloé/ the lake district.
Hasta luego muchachos.
Chile ala Gringa 