El Norte Grande

18 de Septiembre, Fiestas Patrias= week long break So..caught a flight up north to the desert and bused around alot. Dreadfully early 6am flight, and since we still had to make the two hour car ride to Santiago airport, we left Vina at 3am and I didn't sleep that night. On the bright side...the plane ride was gorgeous, getting to see the sunrise over the mountains and mountains of untouched sand dunes, and the morning coastal fog called "camanchaca" nestle in between the desert valleys.

Once we arrived....Our First destination>> Arica, Chile's northernmost city and where we will make our way up to Lago Chungara. An 11 hour bus ride, so considering that we were travelling all day, we were in no mood to hostel hunt when we arrived and went to the first cheap run-down place we found right across the street from the bus terminal.

My longest bus ride thus far, pretty dreadful trying to sleep in the beating desert sun, but we did watch three good illegal copyright movies, I practiced my spanish skills and made pretty good friends with the bus attendant guy.

Hostel Blanca! Only 4.500 mil a night but pretty raunchy. Funny, how I'm perfectly comfortable sleeping outside with the dirt and bugs, but for some reason hostel beds (especially the pillows) are still a little frightening.
Archaelogical Museum....Chincorro mummies, petroglyphs and artifacts showing this regions indigenous human development back 10,000 years of history.

Bienvenidos a Peru...since we were so close, we decided to jump the border to Tacna..a bustling commercial town. The Arch of the Alto de Alfianza, built to relflect the cities herocity in achieving its independence from spain.

I don't feel like saw much of this country to fully compare it with Chile, but from my short stay I did find that Peru was incredibly cheaper than Chile! Hence the length of time it took us to actually cross the border. Many Chileans cross the border daily for cheaper simple services. One can live here with a "free fork". Had an awesome fish for lunch and it only cost me ~2dollars....Much more people hustling you on the streets to buy something, much more kids trying to sell you candy, sunglasses, shine your shoes...I sort of find it sad, but its normal here. For some reason, I found that Peruvians are a bit darker skinned, and have a distinct nose from Chileans...que mas?...more indigenously dressed...I like Peru!

And we're back in Chile....in a small pueblo on our way up to Lago Chungara.....

Coco Tea! ....given to us to help acclimate to the altitude. Altitude sickness is gnarley! It first hit me when I got out of the van to go to the bathroom, I walked ~30ft and had to slow down to catch my breath.

Back in the heart of the desert....Valle de Lluna.....Crazy desert formations created by centuries of floods and winds. Looks like your walking on the moon.

Cliff hanging and sunset watching. Check out all the people climbing up and the amount of salt that settles on the desert floor. Unusual sunset watching...instead of gazing into the horizon, we watched the the colors change on the face of the sand dune mountains. Yellow, orange, pink, purple and blue...

Treking through Valle de Muerte. Valley of the dead. Considered the driest place on earth for its lack of rainfall.

Here, sand boarders doing what they do best...nothing because the hike back up the mountain is super fume! it sucks

Yes...we biked through the desert, and yes it was hot! Thankfully, there were a few big puddles, gunned it through...instantly cooled off, but muddy...

El Tatio Geyser Field...4.2 km above sea level. A very bumpy morning ride over the desert terrain. Luckily, I had it under control with the altitude and car sickness. Started heading up at 4 in the morning, best time to see the geysers is when the steam condenses in the cool morning air. Over 80 active geysers. Earth..doin its thing



Spooky...I can't see anything! Careful not to step on a geyser. Ouch!

Awww yes...naturally heated thermal baths...what I had been waiting for

Heartless!....grinding that carne llama! that is, vicuna, a type of llama meat...Como era? Es super rico y es sano..sin gratis sin cholesteral

San Pedro de Atacama...Love this town...muy tranquilo y relajante.

S. Pedro Hostel living..5mil peso por noche..cheap, but community bathrooms and showers and no hot water. Cold showers suck, even in the desert. But, the chef bumped latin/reggae music all day and everymorning I woke up to Cultura Profetica so, I loved it!

Antofogasto el centroDieciocho!! VIVA CHILE!!