So, after spending a very enjoyable week making our way up the west coast of Chile soaking in the view of the ocean we reached the city of Antofagasta. We treated ourselves to a hotel before turning east to experience the Atacama Desert.
With some areas of the Atacama Desert not having recorded any rain in the last 200 years, it is considered the driest place on earth.
For me it was the primary destination of our road trip. The sheer harshness of it was what intrigued me. We had been on the edge of it the last day or two up the coast, but as you turn inland the true beauty is exposed to you.
The 1500km driving up the coast was just warming us up for the 1400+ km we would spend on this expansive land. We were to find that the difference between coastal highways and desert roads was truly teeth rattling.Mining is a huge industry in Chile. We saw dozens of active mines throughout our drive north. However, we also saw many sites of mines that had passed their usefulness. This salt peter mine had closed decades ago and the remnants of the office complex were massive.About 5km from the mine complex we came upon a sombre sight. This cemetery was used in the early 1900’s to bury the victims of bubonic plague and yellow fever away from population centres. Sadly the most vulnerable were children and that is what this cemetery is known for. Cemetery of the Children has around 3000 tombs and opened in 1910 and finally closed in 1929.As we made our way through the lower elevations you felt like you were driving on the moon. Just rocks and a lot of dust.But as you got higher in elevation you started to see bits of green and even the occasional pond, due to melted snow pack from the mountain peaks of the Andes. Throughout the Atacama you encounter vicuña, a relative of the alpaca and llama..This one pond seemed to be the goto place for the local flamingos.They just seem to show up everywhere around the globe.And these Chilean Flamingos are quite beautiful when in flight.But after a brief bit of moisture we are back to the dust. One thing about this part of Chile is that it has the highest concentration of world-class astronomical telescopes in the world. This is due to the high elevation and the clear skies.We saw several observatories atop of the mountains. We stopped in at Paranal Observatory however it wasn’t open for tours. If you watched James Bond’s Quantum of Solace, parts of it were filmed at this location.
I was continually struck by the brutal beauty of the desert here. Yes it is unchanging and monotonous at times as you drive through it, but the sheer magnitude of it kilometre after kilometre delighted some portion of my brain. Our destination was the Argentina border, but before that we planned on spending a few days around San Pedro de Atacama.
The furthest north we got in Chile was to the Geysers del Tatio. We were above 4400 metres and you could feel it if you walked briskly. It was quite chilly as well.We had the area to ourselves.And the sunset was pretty. Not spectacular, but pretty.When we awoke in the morning the geysers were visible. However our main concern was packing up and warming up in the vehicle. It was -11ºC and our water jug had frozen solid. We were not prepared for these temperatures so it was a rather unpleasant night. Waking up at 4:00 thinking I was having a heart attack was one of the less enjoyable moments in my life. The high altitude took about 8 hours to have an effect, but when it did, Wow!The roads in the Atacama are something to be reckoned with. We actually vibrated bolts off of our vehicle covering certain sections. By far some of the worst roads we have ever encountered. Frequently we ended up driving in the ditch parallel to the road because at least we could go 40 km/hr there. Having a 4×4 with high clearance is a must in my opinion.As we headed into another remote area we came upon this art work. It is supposed to be some sort of dragon. However, how they initially designed it without a drone is beyond me. Impressive, but baffling at the same time.Our goal was to get to the Magic Bus. It was abandoned there decades ago by a salt mining company. They took the engine, drive train, wheels, and seats. Not sure why they left the carcass. However it has become an iconic sight to visit. So here we are.The road into the bus was so brutal that a bolt that secured our kitchen box (the silver box on the back of the vehicle) vibrated tight. So tight we were unable to access our food, stove, and cookware. After trying pliers, hammers, and pipe wrenches we were resigned to a night of granola bars and crackers. Then Karen had the brilliant idea of pouring Italian dressing over the bolt as a lubricant. One hour later it unscrewed without difficulty. We are a great team. Especially Karen.Our campsite was quite remote, but we did have a another camper a couple hundred metres from us.For me the best part of this location was the clarity of the skies. Sunset was wonderful. Also whatever direction you looked at the Andes you could always see at least two volcanoes. Such an amazing area.But after dark was incredible. My astrophotography in no way does justice to the sights we had.We have never seen so many stars.On the other side of San Pedro de Atacama and more than a kilometre lower in elevation we found a more relaxing camp for the night.It was interesting to see how uplifting the sight of a stream can be after days of driving through desert.
After seeing the Atacama Desert it was time to strike for the Argentinian Border. As we were to learn, the thrills and challenges of travel offer endless opportunities for problem solving.
