Between deserts that reminds you of Mars and valleys that take you to the Moon, visiting San Pedro was truly magical.
This small town made up of low houses, dirt roads and a few heroic trees, rises at 2,500 meters practically in the middle of nowhere. All around soar volcanoes, plateaus, and salt lagoons in what appears to be one of the driest places in the world (beaten only by some valleys in Antarctica..).
Being located between the Andes and the coastal cordillera, the area is protected from humidity: in fact, almost no clouds can be seen and the crystal clear sky is one of the best in the world for stargazing. It is no coincidence that ALMA, the world's largest astronomical research observatory, is also located here, as well as about 40 other celestial observation stations...
I will not dwell on my three nights spent counting shooting stars (I lost count...) but I will write a few words about the memorable days exploring this natural spectacle.
I spent the first day visiting the Valley of the Moon.
Located on the Cordillera del la Sal, it has been forged by years and years of wind and water erosion transforming this valley into a large moonscape. The "fossilized" salt that seems to dust much of the rocks white are in fact Evaporites (a sedimentary rock formed by the crystallization and chemical precipitation of mineral salts in water due to evaporation). The dazzling white contrasts with the deep orange of the earth silhouetted against the almost fake blue of the sky, it is truly surreal (I realize that technical explanations kill the natural spectacle...but I really wouldn't know how to explain it)
In all this riot of rocks and plains, on the horizon rises, in a perfect cone, the volcano Licancabur. Always with a snow-capped, perfectly drawn mountain, it reminds me vaguely of Mount Fuji in Japan (like if I asked a child to draw a mountain it would probably look like Licancabur!).
However, the volcano here is not just one...it is surrounded by other volcanoes, so many of which are active...(some count about 2,900 volcanoes in all of Chile of which 500 are active and many in the northern area between Chile, Bolivia and Argentina where I was). In short, arid desert, fossilized salt, active volcanoes...that's what awaits you around here.
Unfortunately, my photos don't render the feeling these views give you: you really feel like you're on another planet.
Near the Valley of the Moon I then visited The Valley of Mars (also called Valley of Death) which is equally spectacular. Overhangs of red rocks in front of a chain of volcanoes on the horizon. A truly Martian landscape and so inhospitable that it does not allow any life forms, either animal or plant (I only saw one lizard in the "parking lot").
At sunset we then went to Coyote Stone, an observation point over the Valley of the Moon where there is an incredible sunset....
The first intense day in the desert thus ended as we watched the sun go out over a volcano...more memories printed in our hearts
留言