This past weekend I went to the driest desert in the world, located in the north of Chile around a small town called San Pedro de Atacama. I left Thursday evening, ready for a trip of a lifetime. Although I didn’t know much about Atacama, this was one of the trips I was most excited for. Many people had told me before I left for Chile that I needed to visit this beautiful oasis and thus, I couldn’t wait to see what it had to offer.
Although we had limited time here, we packed our weekend with visiting as many places as we could, swimming in lagoons, hiking in the mountains, and visiting the geysers. With each adventure, I was more and more shocked at the many different landscapes this place had and how all of them were completely and totally different from the last. So many of the lagoons would reflect the world perfectly, making a mirror image of the mountains behind them, the colors that bled into the sky at sunset being amplified in a glass layer of water. Words can simply not describe the places that I witnessed this weekend, and quite honestly, pictures can’t either. It was a place none like any other I had experienced before. With landscapes I’m sure I could not find anywhere else in the world, I felt truly blessed this weekend to have an opportunity to visit it.
Since my words simply cannot give justice to this simply wonderful place, I will only tell you what we did each day, hoping to give you all some idea of the simply breathtaking sites we visited.
Friday: We went to a place called Laguna Cejar where the water has 7 times the amount of salt than the ocean. We got in the chilly water to experience the floating sensation the salt gives you. In this water you cannot sink, only float. We laid back with our arms and feet bobbing up and down, admiring the mountains in the distance. After a nice dip in the lagoon, we went to another body of water that was so shallow you could walk across the entire thing with only getting water above your ankle. It looked like we were all God, walking on water. This lagoon reflected the landscape on its surface, and as we began to enjoy the sunset we could see the mountains’ colors not only change in the sky but also on the water. This was definitely one of my favorite places this weekend and probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.
Saturday: In the morning we went to Laguna Antiplantico, a body of water tucked high into the mountains. Since it’s winter down here right now, the lagoon was covered with a thin layer of ice and snow dusted the ground and covered the mountains. It reminded me of Colorado and as we walked along a trail through the mountains, it made me nostalgic for home. As we headed back from Antiplantico, we stopped at a flamingo reserve. I’d never seen flamingos so close before and it was quite a spectacle to see flamingos in the middle of the desert. When one flew overhead, I realized that I had never even seen a flamingo fly before and quite honestly, had assumed they couldn’t fly. Seeing it’s pink body float along the open blue sky over a dry flat land was something I will never forget. That afternoon we had the pleasure of exploring Valle de la Luna, where salt has formed canyons and mountains and breathtaking rock formations. We hiked up a steep incline to get to the top of one of the peaks, taking in the breathtaking landscape around us. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. The red tone of the formations was dusted with a white covering, the only indication that this entire landscape was made from salt. We drove to another place to enjoy the sunset and again, I was amazing by the beautiful spectacles this land could offer.
Sunday: We woke up around 4 am in order to drive 2 hours into the mountains before sunrise to enjoy the geysers. Once the sun had risen we climbed out of the van into the chilling cold to see the smoke from tens of geysers rising into the sky. Water burst from their mouths every 10 minutes, giving an explosion of smoke that covered all of us, making us invisible to the world. There was a natural thermal pool here as well and thus I stripped from my warm clothes to take a morning dip in water heated from the mouth of the earth.
It was truly an unforgettable weekend. Sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight back to Santiago, all I could think is that I wanted more time in this amazing place. There was so much more to do and explore that I wish I had an entire century in this desert so I could know every inch, enjoy every sunrise and sunset, climb every mountain, swim in every lagoon. But even though I didn’t have a week, a month, or even a year there, I left feeling completely satisfied and blessed to have had any time there at all.
As my time in Chile begins to wind down, with only 4 weeks left in my program, every moment begins to feel bittersweet. After traveling for the last 3 weeks, I’m ready to enjoy my last few weekends in the city. I’ve built a life here; having a routine of studying, classes, and soccer; a host family that I adore and can’t really imagine life without; friends that accompany my every adventure. These last few weeks will be filled with final projects, papers and tests; but I hope through all the stress I will be able to find the beauty in the simple things and really enjoy the last few moments I have in this country I can now call home.
swimming in Laguna Cejar
Laguna Antiplantico
at the top of Valle de Luna
