Upon arriving to San Pedro de Atacama, we were excited to embrace the warm sunshine on our skin after some windy days. This cute desert town is largely a tourist attraction with a population of just 5,000. The appeal to us visiting here was largely stargazing and the beautiful desert landscapes. Admittedly, we were pretty shocked by the prices upon arrival and debated leaving the following morning. We ultimately decided to embrace our full 48 hours we had planned for and find a way to make it work.
We knew prices would be exponentially higher for the remainder of our trip after leaving Bolivia. This meant a lifestyle change was in order. Gone were the days of eating out for lunch and dinner everyday because it was cheaper and more convenient than cooking. It was time to put our chef hats back on and embrace lots of pasta dinners and peanut butter sandwiches. Consider us sufficiently carbo-loaded.
Mars Valley
Aside from prices, part of our concern was accessibility of desired activities. Being spoiled and readily able to access nature back home, we’re easily frustrated when enjoying the outdoors comes with a high price tag or solely a tour option. Stubborn and determined, we found a way to visit Mars Valley independently via our own two feet— & we’re so glad we did! After our biking experiences in Baños and Paracas, we’ve learned to be weary of anyone convincing us we should rent bikes to visit a place. Much of Mars Valley consists of walking along sandy paths, and bikes wouldn’t have stood a chance in the deep sandy uphill section.
Colorado certainly has ample red rocks (even an amphitheater carved into them), but Mars Valley is unlike anywhere we’ve been. It gets its name from the rugged red rock formations that are thought to be similar to the landscape of Mars. Supposedly NASA has even used this area to practice for missions. I’m pretty certain this is as close as we’ll ever get to the real thing.
Stargazing
As far as stargazing, it was just our luck that we were in the Atacama Desert the week of a full moon. Many operators don’t offer star gazing excursions due to the lower visibility, but thankfully we found a company that will still take you out of town to enjoy the night sky. We were blown away by the number of stars we could see, and we truly can’t imagine what this place would be like with increased clarity.
This desert is famous for star gazing because supposedly you have the chance to spot 83 out of 88 known constellations. This is partially due to the combination of dry climate, high altitude, and low light pollution. We were able to get an impressive view of the Milky Way and other galaxies, saw a comet, had the chance to see Saturn, and enjoyed a talk from an astronomer. Anyone who has ever gone camping with Kim knows that she has been trying to see a shooting star for years with no success. She can know say she’s seen five thanks to this evening, which made the trip to this area SO worth it.
Did you know there are apps that can help you know what day and time will give you the best chance to see shorting stars? We sure didn’t, but we’re excited to try our luck with MeteorActive now!
After this quick Chilean trip, it was time to head to Argentina. This is our last stop on our South American journey until it’s time to fly to Chicago from Santiago later in November.