SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA (CHILE)

Absolutely smack bang in the middle of the Atacama desert, I originally San Pedro de Atacama to be simply a stopover point before I commenced a tour of the famous salt flats in southern Bolivia. However, after discovering that it would be a few days until I was able to depart on one of the tours of the 'salar' I decided to have a more comprehensive look around the area, a decision which I was later very glad to have made. One of the first things I learnt during an afternoon tour of a site just outside the city was that the Atacama desert was possibly the driest place in the world, meaning the region consisted almost entirely of sand and not much else. However, I quickly discovered the very desolate and barron landscape was quite amazing, in a different way to other places I visited in Argentine and Chilean Patagonia, but still just as incredible. The many wind carved stone formations and rolling sand dunes definately possessed captivating qualities however it was probably the magnificent sunsets which I witnessed which were the highlight. Unfortunately I did find San Pedro was extremely touristy, making it somewhat annoying from the point of view that it was difficult to enjoy this amazing wilderness area without the constant interruption of other tourists but in hindsight I did meet some lovely people there and I guess one must learn to take the good with the bad.

Photos 1-3: Amazing desert landscapes in the Atacama desert.
Photos 4-6: Colourful desert sunsets.