Devil's Throat

A cooking class we had organised for today sadly fell through at the last moment, so we a took the opportunity to go for a hike into the surrounding countryside of San Pedro.

Countryside is a slightly misleading term, as it leads one to think of grassy hills, trees and fields. The arid environment in Atacama means that where there should be grass, there is dust, and the only trees that grow look parched. Hills there are plenty, but we chose a route that followed the River San Pedro, cutting through the red landscape. This necessitated crossing back and forth across the river several times, which at one point led us to have to paddle across the icy cold water with trousers rolled up and shoes in hand.

Our destination was the Quebrada del Chulacao, a winding passageway through the undulating terrain. In keeping with the theme of naming inhospitable environments after some part of Satan's anatomy, the ravine is also known as la Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's Throat) - owing presumably to its similarity to the inside of the demonic oesophagus - or simply la Quebrada del Diablo (the Devil's Gorge).

Ordnance Survey eat your heart out

Maps of the area are sketchy and none seems to include the path through the gorge. We were greeted by a rough topological wooden map on entering the area. This marked approximate distances between landmarks, but the route we sought was ominously annotated with "?km". Was the distance unknown because it had never been completed, we wondered.

Inside the Devil's anatomy

Having made some progress into the Devil's Throat, we paused for lunch on top of a hill. Clambering to the top of the ridge allowed me to orient us with respect to Mount Licancabur.

Licancabur and apacheta

Despite a chilly start, the day had inevitably grown hotter and without a map by which to navigate, I was unconvinced that our circular route would bring us back before nightfall. With images of becoming victims of the hellish gorge, and having subsequent travellers discover our dessicated remains, I insisted we turn back.

Not a good place to get stuck

All told, the trip there and back can't have been longer than twenty kilometres, but it felt like a good hike and certainly worked up an appetite. We fell hungrily on a pumpkin, potato, and red pepper curry, which was tantalisingly spicy with ginger, red chilli and coriander that we found on the market.