The Atacama!

We took our firs trip as a program to San Pedro de Atacama, August 28-30. Leaving at 3:30 in the morning, I saw the sunrise over the Andes from my window seat on the LAN Chile plane. We arrived in Calama, which is located about 1225 kilometers north of Santiago.

After loading up on water (the water from the tap in San Pedro is undrinkable because of the minerals) we headed to Chile's largest (and one of the world's largest) open-pit copper mine, Chuquicamata. Until recently, the mine was the world's largest supplier of copper producing 630,000 tons annually. It's no wonder that copper accounts for 1/3 of Chilean exports. The mine is an awesome olliptical abyss gouged from the desert and measures 4.3 km long, 3 km wide and over 850 m deep--deeper than the deepest lake in the U.S. There are trucks the size of houses that are used to transport the copper. Driven on the left side of road as a safety precaustion, the trucks weigh 3 million tons and can carry 4 million tons of copper. Because rubber tires cannot be made any larger than the ones used for these trucks, the trucks are their maximum size. The tires last about 1 year and the trucks 10-12 years. We were able to see an implosion at the mining site and see the machinery that allows for the extraction of copper.

We arrived by bus into the pueblo San Pedro de Atacama. Atacama, covering 600 miles/1000 km. It is one of the driest deserts in the world because of the mountain ranges on either side of it-the Andes and the Domeyko. With little snow and over 150 volcanoes, the mountain ranges are distinctly differnet in appearance in Northern Chile compared to Central Chile. We saw Volcán Licancabur and Volcán Lascar. Lascar is among the most active volcanoes and we saw it smoking during our trip. The brown land stretches to the mountain chains. Underground rivers allow for the small patches of bushes or trees to occasionally adorn the vast dusty, sandy land, contrasting greatly with the ever blue, cloudless sky. At night, the stars are clearly visible. Being in the southern hemisphere, we identified different constellations including scorpion and was saw Jupiter.

Additionally we made a visit to Laguna Chaxa in the Salar de Atacama. Imagine being under the sea surrounded by coral but the minus the water. That is what it felt like to walk through the lifeless, jagged salt flat situated between the Cordillera de los Andes and the Cordillera de Domeyko. There is, however, a lagoon full of activity in the middle of the Salar where we saw flamingos, birds, lizards, and beautful depostis of saltrates and minerals. The lagoon is similar to the Dead Sea in that it has a 40 percent concetraion of salt.

We visited the traditional pueblo Toconao. It is characterized by the liparita or volcanic stone that is used to create its houses and buildings. We visited the Iglesia de San Lucas and its bell tower with a door made of cactus wood, saw the Quebrada de Jere (Sherry Gorge), and learned about the canal system used to water the land.

Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) y Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) were two of the most beautiful views we had while in Atacama. We watched the sunset from the top of a dune in Valle de la Luna, so named because the earth resembles the surface of the moon. The colors in the sky continually changed as the sun set from a gold, yellow, pink to a dark blue, purple.

Besides being awed by the incredible views, we also did a few excursions. We took a mountain bike tour though the desert having to carry our bikes over a small river, climbing up a small hill/mountain to see Incan ruins, and exploring/trekking through the crazy desert rocks. We ended our trip by trying out the extreme sport of sandboarding. Your socked feet are velcroed into a wooden, waxed board. From the top of a pretty vertical sand dune, you just kinda go...and wipe out. It was super fun and you really had to balance. I was surprisingly good at it though it took three showers to get all the sand out of my hair!

The desert is also home to the indigenous pueblo Los Atacameños. Alpacas, llamas, and agriculture, notably corn, beans, squash, and potatoes, are the principal economic means of these people. Their sewing, ceramics, and works of cactus, copper, and bronze are still popular today.