The Atacama Desert

I have just gotten home from travelling nearly 2000 km to the Atacama Desert, north of the capital of Santiago de Chile. It was a splendid trip that served as time to relax with the family, trek around the natural landscape, and stretch myself both mentally and physically.

First things first, you know what surprised me the most? That the desert is actually a desert. To clarify, I understood before my arrival that the Atacama Desert is considered the most arid in the world. However, although my hometown of Albuquerque is considered to be a high altitude desert, it really does not resemble a desert. Albuquerque has trees, a river, and some dirt, but it has never screamed to me as desert (although perhaps I have lived there for some time and have become accustomed). 

Nonetheless, as we were driving into the desert to reach our lodging in the Oasis of the San Pedro Pueblo from the Calama airport, I became awestruck. I felt that I had just been transported to another planet. As far as the eye could see, rock structures in the distance covered by dirt and crater-like terrain formed the landscape. There was a single dirt road that was stretched to the horizon, with no other cars in sight. I truly thought that we had been transported to the Moon.

The Atacama Desert also brings upon the recognition of the power of nature and humanity’s relatively young existence. The place is beyond gorgeous, but it is also empty and, for the most part, uninhabitable. There are few people, few animals, and the conditions are extremely harsh. Although we are still in spring here in Chile, every day in the Atacama was measured at nearly 30 degrees Celsius (high 90 degree Fahrenheit) and there was basically neither shelter nor shade. I dressed in shorts every day but, even after a few hours in the sun, I was exhausted and parched.

You see, San Pedro is an oasis. It is a tiny grid-formatted pueblo town of dusty small roads, adobe houses, and some green trees. Once you travel outside of the town, it transforms into a few one-lane dirt roads branching out in each cardinal direction. There are no houses or other structures along the roads; simply there are terrain and the outline of the mountain range and a few active volcanoes (there are actually five active volcanoes out of the seven total volcanoes). 

These roads stretch for some 50 more kilometers or so to reach iconic places in the desert, like the Valle de la Luna (meaning ‘Valley of the Moon,’ which is a conjunction of high rock structures perfect for climbing and watching the sunset) and Valle de la Muerte (meaning ‘Valley of Death,’ which is a group of rock structures with many sand dunes). 

These two places in particular are striking because the rock formations and sand show the passage of time. The rock structure has morphed and has lines embedded within it from erosion and wind; meanwhile, the high quantity of salt on the sand reminds you that all of this area was once covered by the ocean. It is the ongoing realization that nature came before the birth of humans and will outlast us, as well.

Although the stereotype of a desert is that it is completely gray and full of dirt, I was surprised by the immense variety of landscape and activities that the Atacama Desert offered to the visitor. Among many experiences, I sand-boarded for the first time, biked around in the pueblo, swam - more like floated - in the lagunas which are known for their high salt levels (like the Dead Sea in the Middle East), transformed my black hair into white-streaked ‘grandmother’ hair due to the salt, watched the sunset from the bottom and top of valleys, hiked to archaeological sites, swam in thermal waters located at the bottom of a huge valley, travelled to the Chuquicamata mine which is the largest open pit copper mine in the world, and visited the geysers located at a very high altitude in the freezing dawn. 

I was absolutely fascinated by the colors. The skies were always blue and clear of clouds, following a magnificent and brilliant color gradient. I loved the colors of the doors of the houses and churches, as well, which were usually bright colors. Even the volcanoes and mountains the background had red dark tinges, the salt on the sand almost a pure white, the lagoons always a deep pristine blue, and the pathway to the thermal waters a vibrant reddish wood.

The desert carries an immense cultural and historical history. This was first greatly evident in the facial characteristics of the citizens of San Pedro de Atacama who I saw as shopkeepers and restaurant owners. Many talked about having Incan descent (highly probable especially because the Peruvian border is near to the northern Chilean border) or of having 'atacameno' (meaning 'Atacamenian,' a type of indigenous group that inhabited the desert region). Also, given that the desert is the driest in the world, it has been able to preserve mummies and artifacts well. 

I visited the Tulor archaeological site with my family, where we saw the remaining parts of the homes built more than thousands of years ago. It struck me how similar indigenous homes located in the desert are; the ways that the people adapted, like using adobe as insulation, is remarkably similar when you compare the indigenous homes in the Southwestern US region and those in northern Chile.


On our way to the geysers, which was an hour-long steep drive, we stopped by the tiny pueblo town inhabited by twenty people or so. The town displayed the usual characteristics of a Spanish-occupied indigenous town because in the middle of the town was a prominently featured Catholic church which had been beautifully built. Yet, the people still are holding strong to their community values and culture. They earn their living together, making yarn by hand from wool and barbecuing llama and frying empanadas to sell to tourists. Moreover, it was impressive to see that the people embrace both parts of their identity: the Chilean and the Atacamenian. This was exhibited especially through the display of both flags in every place (The Chilean flag resembles the Texan flag, with colors of red, white, and blue. Meanwhile, the other flag of many colors in squares represents the indigenous groups of Latin America who to this day fight for recognition by the government and society.)

 

I also visited the Pukara de Quitor (meaning the 'Fort of Quitor,' used by a group of Atacamenians to defend from aggressive indigenous groups and the Spanish). We trekked up the huge hill. At the end of the winding trail, we encountered a monument with a cross that said 'My God, why have you abandoned me.' It is meant as commemoration of the hundreds of Atacamenian men who died defending the fort (and along with it, their families) from the Spanish and especially as a way to remember the maltreatment of the natives under Spanish oppression. All along the American continent, this story repeated itself over and over again. As we look into the future, I hope that my peers and I can absorb this lesson and be aware of mistaken sentiments of cultural/religious/political superiority which carry such negative impact.

Overall, I was blessed to be gifted with this trip in a dream-like setting. One day, San Pedro, I will visit you again!

Ciao! :)