We returned to Chile for one last time: from Northern Argentina we crossed into the Atacama desert to find landscapes we had never seen so far and a different Chile than the one we knew.
San Pedro de Atacama (04. – 12.03.2020)
After we tiredly got into the bus in Purmamarca, and drove up to about 4.300 masl. over winding serpentines, we find ourselves in a completely new landscape when we wake up. At the small border post at the Paso de Jama we proceed slowly and while we wait, we can have a good look at the landscape. As we continue our journey, someone taps Lucas on the shoulder from behind. When we turn around, the surprise is big, because behind is Juani, one of the Argentinians whom we had already met several times in the north of Argentina. He has the same destination as we do – San Pedro de Atacama.
As we arrived in San Pedro, we look for a hostel together with Juani. San Pedro is a very expensive place, it is back in Chile and very popular with tourists from all countries. Nevertheless we find it!
The choice of hostel was very lucky: As we eat, two travellers from Nuremberg join us, Judith and Michael. We start talking and a little later we decide that five of us will go looking for a rental car to experience the Atacama Desert. The same evening we find what we are looking for!
So the next day we do all the organisational things like washing clothes, planning our route and checking road conditions. In the evening the route is set and we can start.
When we pick up the rental car, we are positively surprised: as our reserved car is not available, we get an upgrade to a Toyota HiLux 4×4, which is not only a very powerful car, but also the most sold pick-up on the planet. Not a bad start then. After we bought food for the next days and struggled through the rutted streets of San Pedro, we drive towards the Lagunas Escondidas.
The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth. There are normally 8 days of rain a year and a rainfall of less than 1 mm. So most of the freshwater lagoons have now completely evaporated. But there are even more salt lagoons in the Atacama salt pan (Salar de Atacama). The Lagunas Escondidas are 7 salt lagoons with a salt content of more than 75%. This does not only mean an intensive color but also that one can easily float in the lagoons.
After getting out of the lagoons, one dries very quickly. This is due to the heat and of course the salty water. A white crust quickly forms on the skin, which is a good sun protection.
Although the outside temperature is just over 30°C, the lagoons have a very pleasantly cool temperature.
As we slowly think about leaving, around 10 tour buses arrive and after we have had a snack we take the unpaved road back to San Pedro and then further south.
After we have filled up our tank in San Pedro as a precaution, we continue directly into the Salar de Atacama. At sunset we want to be at a lagoon in which it is reflected, and there we possibly also want to make our night camp. But since we are in Chile, we have to pay entrance fee for everything. So we decide to camp at another place and watch the sunset from the street.
Through an app we can find a place in the salar that is ideal for wild camping. Under a lonely tree, we camp under the stars – unfortunately it is almost full moon and so the sky is very bright until the early morning hours.
That night we slept in the tent, Juani between the van and the tent and Judith and Michael on the back of the pickup truck. In the morning we watched a beautiful sunrise behind the volcanoes.
After we have prepared our breakfast on the loading area, there is still time for a first group picture before we start the day.
Our first destination of the day is Laguna Chaxa, with the biggest flamingo colony in Chile. When we arrive after an hour of bad roads, our anticipation is dampened – the lagoons are closed for rehabilitation. So we drive on a bit disappointed, to the Lagunas Altiplanicas.
Once there, we have to pay the entrance fee again of course. Even though the two ranger ladies are the unfriendliest persons, we drive the last part down to the beautiful lagoons. Of course we have to stay between the markings while walking. But sometimes this is quite difficult, especially when you have tourist groups in front of you, where sometimes the individual intelligence fails. The views are still worth it!
After we have a lunch break with a beautiful view, we continue our journey towards Piedras Rojas, another salt lagoon at over 4,000 meters above sea level. But on the way we have to stop several times – because of the beauty of the landscape. But the first stop had a different background! Lucas had spotted vicuñas at the roadside and wanted to sneak up.
The following drive takes us through beautiful areas of the Atacama Desert and the adjacent high plateau.
We drive to the Salar and the Piedras Rojas and walk to the edge of the lagoon.
When we come back to the car, a Chilean stands next to our car and inspects our backpacks. Lucas tells him not to touch them anymore. As we get closer we greet him and ask him what is going on. He is totally mad, introduces himself as a local guide and asks how we know about this place. We answer and show him that it is listed on the official tourist map. He screams at us and wants to see all the pictures we took because he accuses us of uploading the most beautiful pictures on social media and therefore tourist masses will flock to this place. But while he teaches us this lesson, two tourists walk out of his car exactly the same way we walked 5 minutes ago and we ask ourselves why it is okay that they are allowed to take pictures and we are not. But since he is a tour guide, we unfortunately have to conclude that he is only interested in money. After we don’t comply with his demands to show all our pictures here and he gets more and more angry, we leave and continue our journey. Unfortunately an unpleasant experience, but problems with money are normal in Chile, as we have learned and experienced so far.
The beautiful road leads us back and we start looking for a suitable place to camp for the night.
After we have found a suitable place for the overnight stay again per app, we start the drive there and move a little bit away from the main road to a spot where we can see volcanos and the salar. Just in time for sunset we are ready and enjoy the beautiful light.
Tonight it is our turn to spend the night on the loading area of the pick-up. The other three slept comfortable in the tent. The night is quiet, only in the distance you can hear a small river rippling. As the almost full moon disappears at 6 o’clock, we can enjoy a perfect view of the milky way – in full expansion – from our sleeping bags.
The light of the rising sun is very special and bathes the landscape in a soft light.
After we had breakfast in the sun and put our backpacks back on the loading area, we are heading towards our last stop – Valle de la Luna!
The Valle de la Luna of course also costs admission. The fact that only 3 of the 8 places in the valley are currently open to visitors does not lead to any price reduction. Our first stop is the Duna Major!
We continue onward. Since we are too lazy to put all the bags back and forth again, we decide to cover the last two kilometres with everyone on the loading area. Of course a ranger is present immediately to inform us that this is of course forbidden. On the other hand drones are also forbidden and one of them flew around when we were at the Duna Major. By the way, dogs are also forbidden – but it doesn’t matter that one of them is in the middle of the road and another one is chasing the tyres of the cars on the way. Well, anyway, let’s just clear everything back and forth again. When we arrive at the last point, a rock formation, and want to get out, the ranger is there again and very unfriendly points out to Lucas that he was driving a little too fast and that we will be thrown out of the park at the next violation. We are on our way back anyway, so it would be irrelevant, but everyone else drove as fast as we did, including the ranger. But he is the ranger, so he can do what he wants.
So we look at the sandstone formations for a while and joke a little bit about how difficult it is to keep the many prohibitions – whether explicit or seemingly somehow implied, but not obvious.
After a nice time for the five of us, we unfortunately have to return our car already. We spend the evening together before our ways slowly separate. Juani has to return to Buenos Aires, Judith and Marcel continue their journey in Chile.
However, one last peculiarity still awaits us: the day after our return is blessed with rain.
The next day is rainy and we spend the day almost exclusively in the hostel. There are 8 rainy days a year, but only 1mm of rain. Since the rain is mainly caused by the humid-warm air in the Amazon region, the air masses are usually intercepted by the volcanos bordering to the east. Due to climate change, however, the air masses rise hotter and higher, so the volcanoes no longer provide a barrier. Thus, more rain is arriving at the Atacama Desert. It is therefore unusual that it rains so much.
After we relaxed a little, we continue our journey for a last night to Calama.
Calama (12. – 13.03.2020)
We take the bus from San Pedro de Atacama and about 1,5 hours later we reach the big city of Calama. At the entrance of the city we see a sign: „Calama – Tierra de Sol y Cobre“ and on another one the Minería 4.0 is advertised. The city lives from the many copper mines, which are located in the immediate vicinity. We stay in a small AirBnB accommodation. Our hostess is very friendly and tells us a little bit about the city: „Every day at 2 and 6 pm there are earthquakes in the city. This is because of the mines, because there are explosions at these times“. On the drive we noticed another wind farm and we ask her how she finds the park. „I think the turbines are great! But it is only a small wind farm!“ A small wind farm? There are 47 wind turbines close to Calama.
A few days before we reserved seats in the free mine tour and are taken by bus to the largest open copper mine in the world. Shortly before we arrive, we pass a ghost town whose population was resettled about 10 years ago – because of the high dust pollution from the mines. The people who lived there now live in newly built quarters in Calama. We are also accommodated in such a quarter.
After about an hour’s drive – with some administrative stops – we reach the viewpoint of the gigantic copper mine Chuquicamata.
The dimensions are unbelievable and you can’t even grasp the dimension just by standing in front of it. A fully loaded truck needs about 45 minutes from the bottom to the edge of the mine. Most of the copper produced here is purchased by Chinese companies.
However, we cannot see more than this, as the mine is classified as a dangerous workplace. Therefore we drive back after a little while. In Calama itself we only move forward with Uber, because the town is said to be quite dangerous for tourists. But our quarter is very quiet and according to our hostess also very safe. In the evening we can enjoy a last, very colorful sunset in Chile.
The next day we take a bus to cross the border to Bolivia!
Just Geography Things 