San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro is a Hippy desert town in Northern Chile and it was just what we needed after the long and freezing off-road trip of the Salar. We found a great hostel called Eden Atacameña with awesome courtyards and a bonfire area complete with a giant wood pile for anyone to use. We stayed there with our new South African friends Sean and Tanja along with two more friends we made on the Salar trip, Lawrence and Julie. The six of us had great pot-luck and pizza dinners around the bonfire with bottles of excellent and cheap wine. Chile is much more expensive than anywhere we have been yet but the wine is a STEAL!

Empanada time!

The next night we went out for a popular San Pedro activity, star gazing. The altitude, the desert air and the lack of clouds (by this point I don't think Emily or I have seen a cloud for about a month) make San Pedro a hotspot for astronomy. The tour agency "space" is run by a French Astronomer who has about 8 telescopes set up for viewing, plus a quick lesson in Southern Hemisphere constellations and then a short lecture on astrophysics by the Frenchman himself while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. Well worth the time and money and a refreshing chance to learn something while travelling.

Valle de la Luna

Our last day in San Pedro we rented bikes with Lawrence and Julie and rode to the Valle de la Luna about 15km outside of town. It was an excellent bike ride both for the lack of car trafic and the incredible landscapes. I'll end here with some pictures. Our next stop was Valparaiso which required our longest busride yet...24 hours straight! Well worth it though.

Bombing the hill!


Biker Hippy