Mi regreso a San Pedro

My return to San Pedro.
With only two weekends left in Chile, I decided to spend one of them in San Pedro, a small picturesque village located in heart of the Atacama Desert, five hours north of Antofagasta. This was in fact my second visit to San Pedro, I went last December however there were still many things I was anxious to see before returning home.
San Pedro is very popular tourists spot due to its remarkable geography and rustic ambience. Upon arriving it was immediately apparent that this village was part of the “gringo trail”, filled with Brits, Australians and other Europeans, I felt quite disorientated by the amount of English being spoken! Who would have imagined a little village tucked away into the Atacama Desert could be filled with so many foreigners. Antofagasta in comparison has very few tourists.
I checked into my hostel and soon set off to organise my tours. That afternoon I left at 3pm to the “Valle de la Luna” (Moon valley). The valley received its name because its landscape filled with stones and sand closely resembles the moon’s surface. Its extraordinary landscape is as a result of the Atacama Desert meeting the Andes creating a unique panorama. The Moon Valley was very different to the places I had previously visited in San Pedro, as the name suggests, the valley was stark, dry and with no sign of life. Our first stop was Quebrada Cari, where our guide told us to be silent and listen. In the silence we could hear the salt in the rocks making a crackling noise. It’s amazing how small one can feel in the vastness of the desert.
Our next stop was the caves at Cañon where we had to get on our hands and knees and crawl through a cave in the pitch black, making it quite an adventure! Fortunately a few of us had torches as it was quite a difficult task, one tourist made a reference to the 33 miners who were trapped underground last year, although it was an exciting experience, I must admit I was rather pleased to reach the light at the end!
We then headed to the "Tres Marias" (The three Marias) a large stone figure located in the Moon Valley which was named by the Belgian Priest Gustavo Le Paige, a famous and influential figure in San Pedro’s history who believed these three stone figures depicted three religious scenes. Gustavo Le Paige was a keen archaeologist with a great interest in Atacama Culture. He was responsible for the discovery of many artefacts which are now on display at the Priest Gustavo Le Paige Museum in the village of San Pedro.
Our next stop was “Valle de la muerte” or Death Valley. Our guide explained that there are three possible explanations for the valley’s name, the first being that there is a particularly treacherous road that passes through the valley where many people have tragically lost their lives. An alternative explanation is that there is simply no life in the Valley, there is no water and therefore no animals or plants, it is essentially dead. Another legend is that when Gustavo Le Paige explored the Death Valley he described as “el valle de marte” (Mars valley because it resembled Mars) however his Belgian pronunciation of “marte” was understood as “muerte” which means death and well the name stuck!
We finished our day enjoying a scenic sunset at the Moon valley, the landscape was magnificent, with pale blue and pink strokes painted into the night sky, with the dunes of the dusty desert and the moon high above, I really felt like I was exploring another world, another planet, like a serene dream.
The next morning was an early start, 630 am as I took part in “el tour antiplano” a tour specializing in the exploration of surrounding high altitude areas which lead us about an hour south of the village of San Pedro. Our first stop was the “Salar Atacama” (The Atacama Salt flat) where we observed a fine looking assembly of flamingos enjoying their breakfast as the sun rose. We were especially fortunate to catch a glimpse of the flamingos; within just ten minutes of our arrival the entire group had flown away, proving that these attractive and elegant birds are not particularly social creatures. With their beautiful rosy colours reflected against the pale blue water and the backdrop of the desert, I couldn’t think of a more delightful way to begin the day. After a hot coffee and some breakfast to warm us up (the sun had only recently come up so it was freezing!) we headed off to a nearby village called Socaire.
Socaire is a small historical village that is famous for having two identical churches made of rock,adobe and wood. The first church was built in 1745 and has been a national monument since 1951 however the church was heavily damaged in an earthquake. Consequently the inhabitants of the village decided to build a replica of the first church but were then told by the government that they had to restore the original church due to its historical significance and beauty, thus leaving this small village with two matching churches!
We then entered the “Reserva Nacional las Flamencos where we saw Laguna Miscanti and Miñiques. This is perhaps my favourite spot in San Pedro, the moment you arrive you are rendered speechless by the lagoon’s magnitude and natural beauty. You are struck by a feeling of serenity. The lagoons are made up of an incredible range of blues; azure, turquoise and a ring of white salt where the water meets the land. In the background are volcanoes dotted with snow. It was spectacular.
We then headed to a small village called Tocanao
On our way back to San Pedro, we passed a group of llamas strolling through the Desert landscape, a classic South American scene and the ideal way to end my journey.