San Pedro de Atacama - Valle de la Luna

The vacation portion of our Chile experience has arrived and we are enjoying our time in San Pedro de Atacama.

We left Santiago early Wednesday morning and had a very nice and uneventful ~2hr flight to Calama. We stepped off the plane and it felt like we were on a different planet-a hot but dry, dusty and beautiful planet.
We then had an hour busride (again, uneventful) to San Pedro de Atacama...our final destination.
As we pulled into town we noticed small adobe-like buildings with stone and mud walls, very desert-esque. We were dropped off at the front door of our small hotel, which looked the same as all of the others we passed, and checked in. The Hotel Katarpe is a small (~20 or so rooms) hotel just around the corner from the busiest street in town, so very conveniently located. We have a clean and modest room with our own bathroom (yippee! not all in San Pedro offer that feature). The hotel also has a small dining room where breakfast is provided every day (bread and cheese with coffee for breakfast, did they know i was coming? ...yes, please), a nice courtyard with picnic tables and solar powered lights, and very specfic rules (not all of which we have been able to figure out.

We set out to find lunch around town, explore a little, and book our first tour. We learned quickly as we took our first walk down Caracoles street (the main street) that tour companies, artisanal shops, and restaurants were not in shortage in San Pedro. First we stopped for lunch at  Todo Natural where we had a delicious lunch and Justin learned quickly that the menu del dia is the way to go. It seems every restaurant here has a menu of the day where you get the best value for a soup or salad, entree, dessert, and sometimes even a glass of wine. We have since learned to shop around for the menu of the day that interests us most!
After lunch we booked our first tour, because desert tours are what it's all about here in San Pedro. We knew we wanted to see sunset at the Valle de la Luna, so we signed up. Around 4 pm we met back at the tour agency (just around the corner from our home away from home away from home) to get started. We met our very energetic tour guide Waldo, a new friend in Aussie Joshua, and set off on a short bus ride to the "moon valley."
The scenery really was amazing. A short walk at our first stop for pictures and a geology/geography lecture from Waldo was first on the agenda. This valley is famous for its resemblance to the surface of the moon, owing to its different stratifications and the salt formations that are caused by natural environmental factors. The valley is surrounded by several mountain ranges including the Cordillera de la Sal (Salt mountain range), the Cordillera de Domeyko, and the Andean mountain range. The Andean mountain range is made up of a plateau, known as the Altiplano and a chain of volcanoes.

Stop number two proved to be my least favorite moment (at least up to this point) of our Chile experience. Waldo informed us that we would be making a short trip through the caves. He said it would be difficult at times (understatement of the year) but that we could all make it (with a big grin on his face). I don't even want to relive the experience but I will just for your enjoyment. We go (bags and all) trudging through the caves which get darker the deeper we go (intuitive, i know) to the point of pitch black. Waldo does have a small head lamp which appears to be working on low battery power and does us in the middle of the group absolutely no good whatsoever. We crouch and walk like crabs where the height is maybe 3 ft... we get horizontal and crawl with our hands and feet outstretched against the walls... we climb straight vertical heights with footsteps much smaller than those at your typical indoor climbing facility ... and then... we jump down from said straight vertical heights. There was definitely a moment about halfway through where I looked at Waldo (and the straight vertical climb ahead of me) and asked if it would just be easier if I turned around. The decision here was tough, go back to the horizontal belly climb in pitch black darkness, or climb up a vertical mountain (oh yeah, did i mention I'm wearing flip flops) with no safety harness. I looked at Justin and told him to make sure he got my body out of there and told my parents that I loved them. I braved it and decided to finish. We came out dusty and worn, but we made it. Not my finest moment friends... but I am proud to say I made it through.

I told Waldo there would be absolutely no more of that on my part...thankfully, he agreed (unfortunately he didn't realize what would happen on our next tour with him...that story to come later).
Our third stop was to the Great Dune Path, which were beautiful as well. Justin tells me the view from the top of the dune was nice too (but after his description of the climb, I'm not sure the view was worth it).

Stop number four was to "The Three Maries" which are a grouping of formations that are the result of intense erosion processes. They are composed of gravel, clay, salt, gems, and quartz and are approximately one million years old. We had fun with photography here.

Our last, and most spectacular stop was to watch the sunset over the valley. Probably the most beautiful sunset either of us have ever seen. We were skeptical at first because it seemed it would be too cloudy for a pretty sunset, but Waldo told us to have faith... and he was right! Words cannot do it justice so I'll show you the pictures (which still don't really give you the full amazing picture... but they'll help).

Waldo and Justin on the edge

Just before the sun set

 Tell me that's not gorgeous. It was even better in person.
After this we headed back to town and found the menu of the day that sounded best to us...and it was... although Justin was forced to eat beef for the first time in years. Plus, it ended with more tres leches cake! Yum!