As we flew into Northern Chile this weekend, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I have never been to a desert before and didn't know much about the Atacama Desert. Luckily, with all the tours and experiences I had this weekend in San Pedro de Atacama, I learned a lot about them.
The Atacama Desert is deemed the driest desert in the world, not because it gets so hot, but because of the lack of the water. However, near where I stayed there were 5 areas where there is an oasis of water for the people around San Pedro de Atacama. The lack of humidity creates a unique climate where salt (not just the table kind, but with other elements like sulfur, potassium, and lithium) forms. Thus, the Atacama has a rich source of some of these minerals on Earth. Additionally is creates salt water flats for animals like flamingoes. Three different kinds of flamingoes are in the salt water flats in the Atacama Desert.
There are also many rock and sand formations. One that is close to the Valley of the Moon is Tres Marias, three Marys. I could not understand the tour guide fully, but from my perceptions of his descriptions it has something to do with the Southern Cross constellation that is easily seen in the desert. Speaking of constellations, the stars in Atacama are bounteous. While Santiago has many other interesting things, it lacks visibly star filled nights. The Atacama Desert makes up for this. Since the moon was full while we were in San Pedro de Atacama, it was harder to see the light from the stars, yet it was still awesome to be able to see the star light and planets like Saturn and Jupiter. I also learned to identify some other constellations and important stars that can always been seen in the sky in Chile.
The views and landscape of the Atacama desert were amazing. I am very grateful that I have been able to experince a diverse geography since I have been in Chile. I am also lucky that the sunsets here are amazing. Back at home at the University of Dayton campus the best place for sunsets is Stuart Hill. Now I am not sure what I will think when I go home after seeing the beautiful evening skies here.
So, I haven't mentioned much about food yet. If that is what you have been waiting for, here you go. One of the dishes I have tried here is a chorrillana. Chorrillanas are french fries, meat, onions, and egg. I did try one in Santiago, accompanied by the famous drink called the terremoto (earthquake), but the one I enjoyed most was the one I had in San Pedro. The meat on this one was sausage and chicken. While this is definitely not the most healthy dish out there, it is delicious if you are looking for something to share with a few friends.
It is also to important to remember that while the Atacama is VERY dry, that does not mean the land is infertile. When horseback riding I learned that a little agricultural town grows some fruits, vegetables, and grains like quinoa. The cactus in the desert also have fruit that can be eaten after flowering. While it may not produce nearly as much as other regions in Chile, it does produce some food, much of which gets it's water from the melting snow on the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is dry, but it is far from dull.