Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do in San Pedro de Atacama but not everything is as economical as the tours we were able to find for our first three days there. As a couple instead of a quartet, we were forced to participate in one of the more expensive tours (the price depending on the distance travelled from town it seemed).
On this particular day we ventured to Las Lagunas Altiplánicas, first stop Laguna Chaxa. As we drove into the national park it seemed as if we had entered a parallel universe. The entire area was covered with crystallised salt rocks and salt encrusted streams of water interspersing between. It really did look like the ancient bottom of the sea, only with flamingos grazing on the strange bacteria one can find in the water.
We were told that there were three types of flamingos that inhabited the area: the Chilean, the Andean and the James Flamingo (the smallest of the three). You can tell them apart from their colour in particular as some have more pink feathers than others. They all looked beautifully silhouetted against the water's surface and each and every tourist couldn't help but click away.
Next we travelled a long way to Lagunas Socaire, Miscanti and Meñique, which were quite high in altitude (approximately 4000 metres above sea level) and the little van struggled to make it up. We did eventually arrive and the huge lake set in a small valley below the mountains was rather breathtaking. Vicuñas lazily walked along the yellowing grass; their camel-like features looking striking against the blue backdrop of the lake.
On the way back to town we passed the ancient and original Inca trail, which begins in Ecuador and ends in middle Chile. It was basically a trade root that the Inca people developed, very much the South America version of the Silk Road. Traditionally the travellers crossing the driest desert in the world would pile stones on top of each other to indicate the correct direction and myth states that if a traveller does this then he is protected on his journey. So of course at the exact point where a cross stands indicating the Tropic of Capricorn one can find a growth of these piled stones from the many modern tourists who now pass by. We also stopped for lunch at a typical ugly mining village and visited the other church in the area with a cactus roof, in Toconao.
With no plans for the following day, we took the opportunity to sleep in and after a lazy breakfast we went walking the 3km to Quitor Pukará – ancient ruins from the original indigenous inhabitants of the Atacama Desert (supposedly after the Tiahuanaco and before the Inca, which were then conquered by the Spanish). Upon the hill descends the ruins of houses, which once stood surrounded by a strong fort wall, all made from volcanic rock. On the adjacent hill we climbed high up to the mirador and took in the scenery. We climbed further up to the large religious cross where we also came upon a group of Germans who were climbing up from the other side. We asked where they had come from and they reassured us that there was a path. And so we continued on, sometimes sliding on our bottoms down the steep rocks, sometimes looking endlessly for the merciless path until we came into a valley of rocks as the Germans said we would find.
Once the ground became flat, we enjoyed climbing in and out through the valley of rocks, which towered above us. Although, it wasn't long before we feared that we had gone the wrong direction and we were in fact lost in the desert. Our only reassurance that we were going the right way was either rubbish left behind by some slack people or the still-fresh footprints of the Germans. We made it out eventually and found ourselves in the Valle de la Muerte where we had been sandboarding a few days ago. The worst part was then having to walk along the highway back to town, racing off the road as big cargo trucks came past and flicked stones at us from under their wheels.
We cooked our lunch and then went off to check out the museum in the central plaza, which is also an Institute for Archaeological Investigations and was founded by the priest R.P Gustavo Le Paige, one of the forefathers of Archaeology in Chile. It was he who had grained the permission to conserve the artefacts found in the area, including ancient bodies of the Indigenous people, which have since been taken off display out of respect. It was a laugh to see just how many of the artefacts were in fact old tools for cocaine consumption, either used to get closer to the Gods or for the altitude. The translation into English for many items was "Snuff Tablet".
Afterwards we walked 3km in the stinking heat to the local municipal swimming pool, which just so happened to be closed that day for cleaning. We sat in the shade for a little bit before we dared the sunrays again. Most disappointing!
The following morning we spent buying souvenirs and Christmas presents, something actually very hard to do because most of the objects were straight from Peru where you can get them for half the price. At least the sellers were honest in telling us the original of the item when we asked. Then we took the bus to Calama where we had planned to wonder around for a bit but when we got there (this time during the day) we found it to be the most boring and frightening town we had been to in Chile. I say this because it is strictly a mining town without much cultural influence (so it seems, although I hear the central plaza is nice. We couldn't find it), and I felt the eyes of the many men upon my oh-so white skin. It was as if they had never seen a white person before. In fact we both felt so uncomfortable we took a taxi to the airport and waited for our plane there.
Who knew the desert could be such an adventure!
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