Our trip to San Pedro was a magical one. The incredible rock formations and landscape is indescribable. Before the trip, I had heard some details about Atacama such as the dust and tourist attractions. Everyone I heard from either enjoyed their time there and could not even put the beauty into words or did not like it due to the rugged terrain and dust. Personally I can see both sides. The small town of San Pedro is full of dust and some shanty looking homes. Even our hostel, Nueva Amanecer seemed a little rough around the edges. What we came to find however, is that the town was bursting with life and the people were very helpful. I fell in love with the Atacama region. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced and I am quite grateful I was able to spend those memories with our group.
Group excursions are always interesting because we always have the opportunity to stay with different people that we usually wouldn’t seek out. I found this to be a great experience. Talking and living with others in my group that I usually do not get the chance to spend time with allowed me to get to know them better. Staying in hostels is always a telling experience as well. I am used to staying in hotels when I travel, so to experience the independence of a hostel is always fun. They have a different feel to them. We felt as though we were welcomed and could sit or converse wherever we wanted. It was not as though we were banished to our individual rooms. There was the open kitchen and conversing area where we could sit and relax, hang out together and talk to other people who were staying there as well. Hostels are a great place to get to know people from all over the world. It is an inspiring experience. For example we met a woman who had taken a year off from her university in Korea to backpack around South America, alone. Her stories were incredible. This type of occurrence would never be possible anywhere else. It was also nice because we could cook and eat together in the mornings and nights; another bonding experience. The “qwerks” about hostels also makes for great memories. Such as bathroom space and usage, towels from the hostel owners, what we find inside our rooms or beds, and compromising the limited space we have between bunks and floor. All these experiences bring us together to be better friends as well as better travelers.
La Valle de La Luna I found to be extremely moving. I could not believe that the rocks were formed by salt. Another thing that I found to be interesting that surprised be was the rock formations and how distinct they were from everything I had ever seen before. Looking back at the photos I took, there are so many close-ups of the different details of rocks. One rock formation could have certain details and another formation, a few feet over, could have details completely distinct from the other. Our guide was very educated in all things Atacama. He explained that the earth’s plates came together and that is what formed the valley. When the valley was formed, water became trapped in between the two hills which made life possible. It was also interesting when we were in the cave because we thought like the native atacameños thought. I could not imagine living in those conditions and some of us were wondering whether or not they could have had happy lives. Their lifestyle is something that most of us could not even begin to fathom.
Geysers El Tatio was another highlight of my trip. Getting up before even the sun wanted to show its face was a struggle, but we got to sleep on the bus for the two hour drive into the Antofagasta Region. Compared to the balmy weather we had in San Pedro, in the high altitudes of El Tatio the temperatures were below freezing. We had to get out our long lost winter gear of 3 layers along with hats and mittens. We were shivering as we got out of the bus and ate our make-shift breakfast of pan and Nescafe. The geysers were absolutely incredible and I had no idea that they were active due to the volcanoes that surrounded them. As the sun peaked out from over the mountains, it got a bit warmer out. Again what surprised me were the minerals in the rocks and how unique and beautiful everything that surrounded me was. It was also very dangerous and our guide warned us multiple times to stay on the designated paths because the ground was unstable. After walking around, we had the opportunity to swim in one of the geysers which I could not have imagined an hour earlier. We quickly took off our layers to our swim suits and jumped in. It wasn’t as warm as I would have expected but it was still much warmer than outside. It was absolutely incredible. Getting out was the worst, however. After the geysers, we stayed in the bus for basically the rest of the trip back down the mountains back toward San Pedro. Three girls had gotten sick from the altitude, and others had gotten sick when we returned to our hostel. I was thankful that I did not feel the effects until I returned to Vina, however it opened to my eyes to true altitude sickness.
On our “free day” the majority of the people in our hostel chose to take a tour to the Lagunas de Cejar. If I had to choose, this would have been my favorite, just by a little. We left on what seemed to be an old Micro bus through the unpathed desert for an hour. When we got to the first Laguna we were all so warm from being on the bus we gladly jumped in. To our surprise, we floated. This particular Laguna held 40% more salt than the ocean, therefore we floated as if we had inflatable tubes holding us up. We were all giggling the whole time and after we dried off our entire bodies were caked with dried salt. The next Laguna were “los Ojos” where we jumped in from about 10 feet above the water. The water was much colder, equally as salty, and still incredible. Finally, we stopped at the “ankle-deep lake” which was also breath taking. The whole floor was white with salt that looked like snow and the water was crystal clear and very shallow. As the sun set, the views were breathtaking as it set behind the hills and the mountains reflected orange on the opposite side. A perfect end to a great trip.
Atacama surprised me with its never ending beauty. There were sights there that I have never seen in my life and will most likely never see again. I am so grateful that we were able to go to San Pedro and experience the culture of northern Chile. It is an experience I will hold dear to my heart and will remember as one of the highlights to my time here in Chile.
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