The high desert: San Pedro and the Atacama

Flamingos in salar, hills behind, life in the high desert above San Pedro de Atacama.

In between my visits to Reserva Nacional Pampa de Tamarugal, and Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar, I headed up into the Andes again, into the high desert, to the Atacama. There, I visited the absolutely cool town of San Pedro de Atacama, this place is a must-see for anyone traveling in Chile. Is a quiet little town, a place which in some ways reminds me of what Santa Fe, New Mexico in the United States might have looked like 70 years ago. The town is dry, but irrigation channels give the town life, an oasis in the high desert. Plus, it seems that everyone is on a mountain bike, so that alone made me feel perfectly at home. There are cool shops, and many restaurants, plus lots of hotels and hostels, a backpacker's paradise. Had llama tacos one night for dinner, just great. I bet I met people from more than a dozen countries, including Canada and New Zealand (Scott and Jennifer, I think), Holland, Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Brasil, United Kingdom, Australia, and of course, Chile. Scott and Jennifer were on small motorcycles, 400 cc, and had ridden their bikes all the way from Toronto, though USA, Mexico and Central American, and then down from Columbia to Chile, very impressive. I parked and camped in my van for two nights in the courtyard of a hostel, Hostal Puritam, and had access to bathrooms and showers, and even had some shade. The first night, there was a Dutch couple there, rented a little Suzuki with a roof-top tent, from a company call WickedRental (or something like that), colorful vehicles which I would see all over Chile. I stayed in San Pedro for three nights, though the third night I had to move, no room at the previous place, so moved down the road to Hostal Casa Campestre. This was a very cool hostel, though more about tent camping, bikers and backpackers, not overlanders like me, parked in dirt parking lot, no shade. I biked a lot, including a trip out to the Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna), about 30 km round-trip, and drove up high one day, over 12,000 feet, visited the Salar de Pujsa which was beautiful, and the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos, which was a bit of a disappointment (mostly because there was not really anything to see, and I almost got stuck in the sand). The salars are shallow salt lakes, and flamingos, and vicuna are everywhere. There are volcanoes, high peaks, salt lakes, hot springs, and, the Atacama Desert, driest desert in the world. I loved San Pedro, just a great place to explore, get on a bike and ride, and then chill later at one of the many restaurants, enjoy a beer, and llama tacos. You need to get here if you ever get a chance, one of the coolest towns, and place I have visited so far.
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