Lunar landscape in Chile

NASA, the Moon, and San Pedro de Atacama

Waking up the following morning in San Pedro de Atacama was a pleasant experience. I had not had a need for altitude sickness pills, we had descended to 2,200 meters the previous day, and the air was thick enough with oxygen that my brain and body were no longer starved. There was not much I had planned for the next two days except for an afternoon trip into the Atacama Desert and a visit to the Valley of the Moon and the Valley of Death. I made my way from my accommodation – about 2km from the centre of the town – into the centre. I had spied a nice little restaurant there the previous afternoon next to the town square, and fully intended to have brunch there. I had managed to recharge my batteries, and decided to do some work on my photographs and write up some notes before going on the tour in the afternoon.

A quiet square in San Pedro de Atacama

The difference between ‘want’ and ‘need’

I took a little extra time to explore some of the small streets of the immediate area around the square – an area totally given over to tourism and visitors, with hostels, shops, a few small banks and other necessities for tourist life. I acquired a new sim card, and settled into a comfortable chair at a table and ordered food – real food, from a real menu, complete with a real cup of coffee with actual milk. As the food melted in my mouth and the coffee seemed to make me human again, I realized how much we take for granted, and how much really is a luxury in life. For 4 days the food had been fine, and except for the one breakfast which had been a bit dubious, we had all eaten our fill and more, and no one suffered, meaning that we really don’t require a lot more than what we had eaten, yet here I was ordering dishes that would have made me salivate in the desert, yet none of it really necessary; it was simply feeding a desire, a ‘want’, not a ‘need’. (But it all tasted darn good).

Sculpted by wind, a barren landscape in Chile

Valley of Death, Atacama, Chile

Moon shadow… and a Mars mission

I enjoyed the moment, and then set out for the departure point for the trip to the valleys. On the bus I ran into a few people whom I had met on the trip through Uyuni, and we chatted as we approached the Valley of the Moon. At the entrance we were given a brief introduction, then we moved on to the parking area a few kilometers further down the road from the park entrance. The timing of visits to the valley is carefully orchestrated to ensure that different groups of visitors actually have a few minutes in the different locations to take pictures and selfies without having the rest of the world’s population in the background. The Valley of the Moon is an amazing landscape, with sand dunes, high ridges, caverns, and sand and stone formations. We traveled first along a track to take in some of the dunes, climbing slowly to reach a viewpoint on the crest of one series of rocky ridges. It was a magnificent sight, and we all had a few minutes where we sat silently observing the area around us. The Valley of the Moon is one of the driest places on earth, with some areas not having received a drop of rain for hundreds of years. The valley, due to its climate and terrain was also used as a testing ground for a NASA Rover destined for Mars.

Claustrophobia and a Stratovalcano

From here we moved on to Death Valley; an equally barren and interesting landscape. We followed another track that took us through some rock formations before arriving at a tunnel entrance. We were told that the tunnel would get narrow, and some people stayed behind, knowing full-well what claustrophobia feels like. I had my doubts as well, but proceeded to enter the space. After only a short distance, however, I realized that I too should have stayed behind. I made my way against the flow of the crowd back to the entrance area, only too glad to leave the narrow space behind. I breathed deeply and was happy to fill my lungs with clean air. I walked down the track between two walls of rock, in search of the exit where our group would reappear. I eventually found it and waited patiently for the group.

Sunset across the Valley of Death, Chile

Apparently my choice had been a wise one, as some of the spelunkers told me that at one point they had to literally crawl through a space that was no more than about 1 foot wide and of similar height. Had I ventured to that point, I am certain that I would not have been able to make it through. We sauntered back to our vehicle, boarding for the final destination of the afternoon. Only a short distance away, a large crowd of people was slowly gathering along the edge of a cliff. The sun was setting on the opposite side, while behind us the stratovolcano Licancabur with a 5,900 meter high cone that is very prominent, slowly turned different hues of blue and purple with the setting sun. Despite the wind, and the large crowd, it was quiet. As with other stunning locations where words are meaningless or superfluous, the crowd here too sat mostly silently, watching the sun set, and the altering colours of the landscape of the Valley of the Moon.