Atacama Desert - Chile

San Pedro de Atacama - this is exactly how the abandoned towns in old Western films look like, inhabited by stagecoach robbers, whiskey-drinking gold diggers, and corrupt sheriffs! The small town is located in the middle of the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world with an average humidity of 10% - so dry that my freshly washed laundry dried outside overnight! We were also glad that it was so warm to wear shorts again!

First, we explored the desert by bike: narrow paths led us through rugged rocky landscapes into Death Valley, which reminded us of the "Gorge of the Crescent Moon"; Indiana Jones fans would love it here! At the end of the bike path, a steep trail led us to one of the many peaks, where we enjoyed an amazing view of the barren desert landscape, with its only green oasis, the riverbed of the San Pedro River.

We also visited the "Valle de la Luna", which got its name (Valley of the Moon) for a reason! We saw barren, inhospitable desert with rugged mountains and rocks, not even inhabited by lichens anymore. Watching the sunset there is definitely one of the things we won't forget any time soon!

One thing you shouldn't miss in the Atacama Desert (besides drinking delicious Chilean wine, which we did a lot), is stargazing! The night sky there is hardly polluted by light, as the small town of San Pedro is the only one for miles around. So we set out at night to visit a small observatory a few kilometers outside the town, where a very patient employee explained to us the formation and various "life stages" of stars, which we then saw through a telescope. For me, it's unimaginable how many light years there are between us and a star and yet it is still so clearly visible!

Unfortunately, we didn't have more time to stay in Chile and see more than the Atacama Desert. We had to continue to Buenos Aires to catch our flight - we will have to postpone Patagonia to another trip!