San Pedro de Atacama



Drive from Salta to San Pedro



We left Salta with another early start, this time at 5:40am.  We drove for about fourteen hours to cover the 550km to San Pedro in the Chilean Atacama Desert.  It was a hard drive, not helped by having to spend an hour at the border to get out of Argentina and, over an hour’s drive later, a further hour at the border getting into Chile.  And as we crossed the Andes, on roads that wound their way up the mountains to an altitude of 4170 metres above sea level, some of the group started to feel the effects of the climb, with a couple being quite unwell.  Thankfully most of us only had a dry mouth, a bit of a headache and a realisation that any exertion at altitude can leave you quite breathless.

Drive from Salta to San Pedro



And for those of us that weren’t ill, the altitude effects, the long drive and the tedious border crossings paled into insignificance because the journey was just so beautiful.  For me, the most amazing thing in this journey, and also across the days that followed, was the variation in the type of scenery that we passed.

Drive from Salta to San Pedro



We started out going past vast barren areas with huge rock formations in oranges, reds, greens and yellows.  We stopped for lunch at the side of a road in an area that seemed completely uninhabited and uninhabitable, until we peered over the edge and spotted a little group of homes and people planting out crops. 

Drive from Salta to San Pedro





After a while the cacti started to appear, as we wound our way up, past remnants of snow and ice, to 4170 metres above sea level.

Salt flats in Argentina



Then as we dropped back down the mountains, we reached some salt flats.  We stopped here to use the toilets and admire the building made out of blocks of salt, complete with salt tables and benches.

Drive from Salta to San Pedro



The next stage was vast flat areas, covered in yellow grasses, but still with the mountains as a backdrop, and then gradually we hit the dusty desert region.



Drive from Salta to San Pedro



In the long hill climb between the two borders, with Cameron toiling on up, we came across a truck that had given up the battle.  We stopped to help the Chilean soldiers on board and gave them a tow to the top of the hill.  Dave declared this to be good karma, and indeed it was rewarded with a bottle of dark rum.  Cap Time was immediately declared!



Drive from Salta to San Pedro



  



 We finally got to San Pedro de Atacama at about 8:30 pm, needing to put up our tents.  Thankfully we had all agreed that going out for a meal was far more sensible than cooking for ourselves, so having got the tents up we headed into the tiny town.



San Pedro de Atacama, Chile



As the jump off point for desert trips, San Pedro is obviously a tourist base, and there is a lot of growth, but they have made a good effort to keep the main street looking traditional.  The restaurants were mostly cavern type rooms dug out slightly lower than ground level, with open fires and benches, and full of atmosphere.  The food was good and cheap.  I had a huge empanada for £4:50 and only just finished it.



Atacama Desert, Chile

We had some time free the next morning before we took our trip to the desert, and everyone headed off back into town to shop for our next meals, to eat more, or just to take in the town. No-one elected to stay at the campsite, probably because there was something of a smell of sewage that strangely no-one really took to!

 

Atacama Desert, Chile



In the afternoon we went into Moon Valley to see the desert.  We were only a little way in, but still we saw some impressive sand dunes and the Tres Marias rocks that were formed 25,000 years ago, just from the wind and sand erosion 

Atacama Desert, Chile







Atacama Desert, Chile



 

   

Atacama Desert, Chile



As it got later we climbed the rack to the top of one of sand dunes to watch the sunset.  It wasn’t the best sunset, but still it was a good sight.

Atacama Desert, Chile

Back in the town, we once again avoided spending any extra time on site and went for a meal.  This time we ended up in a place that had a DJ playing a lot of 70s and 80s music, so a lively evening to round off our time in San Pedro.



Atacama Desert, Chile




  

Atacama Desert, Chile