Atacama Desert

We left Santiago this morning to make our way north to the small town of San Pedro in the Atacama desert. Chile is a remarkably long country, especially after it annexed parts of Bolivia and Peru in the early 20th century. Given its geography, the bus journey takes a solid 24 hours. Unwilling to spend a whole day (and night) on a bus, we opted for a flight to the nearest big town, Calama.

West coast Chile

After flying over 1200km north, we still found ourselves within the same country's borders, but the landscape was very different. The ground came up to meet the aircraft, as we had taken off from a 500m elevation only to land at 2,400m above sea level.

A bus connected us via the one road through the desert to San Pedro de Atacama, passing through strange red-white landscapes, dominated by a range of volcanic mountains.

"Hello? Civilisation?"

The snow-capped peaks aside, it was though we had landed on Mars. The small town of San Pedro was the first sign of civilisation we encountered in the 100km journey from Calama.

San Pedro has the appearance of a wild west settlement - the one-storey adobe buildings forming narrow dust-filled alleyways barely wide enough for cars. In fact, every surface is coated in a thick layer of terracotta dust. The town largely survives on the interest in the natural wonders showcased in the surrounding environment.

After The Fall

We checked in to our small lodgings just outside of town. In fairness, it is only a ten-minute walk to the main square, but San Pedro is so tiny that our accommodation more or less backs onto the open desert.

Home in the desert

The place itself is a small courtyard surrounded by five bedrooms and a space for communal breakfast. The building is an adobe-covered space full of natural wood branches holding up the shade, with a couple of hammocks slung casually between them.

Hot in the day, cold at night

We ventured into town to find sustenance. For a dusty town in the desert, San Pedro offers a far greater variety of dining choices than we had imagined. Without much thought, we stumbled into the first (and I suspect only) all-vegetarian restaurant we came across.

Stuffed pepper

Estrella Negra is only a few tables and chairs in the corner of a much larger restaurant sharing the same space. However, they served up a filling menu of soup and pimentón relleno (stuffed pepper) and even had a soya hamburger for K to enjoy.