Christmas in the desert

Chile welcomed us with sunny weather and no clouds. We heard this weather is common in the Atacama desert on more than 300 days in a year. So we knew that there will be no white Christmas, also because there was no snow under 5500 meters above the sea. However, the desert is on 2440 meters above the sea and while the sun shines almost every day without any clouds, the temperature is quite cold, especially in the shadows or when the sun goes down.

The “green” part of the Atacama desert

Our bus from the Bolivian border brought us to San Pedro de Atacama, which is a oasis in the desert and has everything tourists need – hotels, hostels, supermarkets, tour agencies, one gas station (although very hard to find) and best of all, a very good French bakery 🥖!! After immigration we got our bags checked and then immediately got 250.000 Chilean Pesos (CLP) from an ATM. We felt rich until we saw the prices. One US-Dollar is about 600 CLP and the price level is similar to Germany.

We got our car (YES, we were independent from busses 😁) from the airport in Calama and then went to our guest house, which was located 7 km outside of San Pedro. It was a beatiful house with two apartments and a shared kitchen. The name of the house is „Casita La Brea“ and we can fully recommend it.

Casita La Brea after nightfallOur fantastic car – it was worth taking a SUV as the roads were not so well developed

Initially we planned a big several course meal for Christmas, even hoped to be able to bake some cookies. When we saw the kitchen this plan faltered, as there were only two cooking platters and no oven. When we went to the supermarket our plan was completely shattered as it had the variety of food similar to what a gas station in Switzerland offers. Therefore, we had to re-plan everything and focus on a simpler menu. We also had to take into consideration that we had to share the kitchen with another couple and that there was only one cooking platter per couple. However, when the other couple arrived it turned out to be very easy going and we arranged it easily to cook with each other. The other couple was also traveling the world and came from the other side into the direction where we came from, so we exchanged our experiences. We also celebrated christmas and ate together, starting with a Swiss-style aperitif, followed by a nice piece of meat (still no idea what it really was, I did not understand the butcher), mashed potatoes, beans and a salad. We also had good wine, so it was all fine apart from not having the family around. But that’s how it is when you travel for a long time.

During our days in the Atacama desert with did some amazing tours based on what our hosts Maria Angelica and Rafael suggested. On the first full day we went into the Valle de la Luna, the valley of the moon. The rock formations and the sand dunes were very impressing and we spend a lot of time and took pictures. Generally we were very happy to have the freedom again to do exactly what we wanted to and not having to jump back into a bus after 10 minutes.

Christine in the Caverna de Sal, a narrow gorge in the Valle de la Luna.

The amazing road in the Valle de la Luna

On our second day on December 24 we went up the hills to the altiplano over 4000 meters above the sea to visit the Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques with flamingos and a salt desert with the name Piedras Rojas. The sights were again spectacular, especially seeing the Atacama desert from above. We went back in time to celebrate christmas and had a great time listening to Christmas songs.

Different colours with the Piedras Rojas in the back

A field of blue flowers on the altiplano above the Atacama desert

The next morning we went up very early and left the house at 5.30 am to make our way up the mountains to the „El Tatio“ geyser field. There are more than 60 geysers and you have to be there early to see them fuming, as the day gets warmer, they are not so spectacular anymore, some even vanish. We drove through the night, following tour busses and other cars. It felt like a race up the mountains and our Hyundai Creta had to show its full performance. Once we arrived we got all our layers on as it was -10 degrees Celsius. The geysers were fascinating and we took a long time exploring the different blow holes, mud holes and hot fountains.

On our way back we visited the idyllic Termas de Puritama. They are located in a valley and offer eight basins, where you can relax in warm water between waterfalls. The pools were so beautiful and calm (once there were no young children trying to swim around) that we got our share of relaxation over christmas. We also got a very bad sunburn from which we still suffer slightly. Anyways, it was a great day, which got even greater in the evening because we were able to get tickets for a special tour.

The Termas de Puritama from above

The Atacama desert is famous for its dark nights because of the good weather (no clouds), the high altitude and the favourable wind. Therefore, stargazing is one of the main attractions. The largest telescopes on earth are based in the Atacama desert, however, as a tourist you are not able to visit them. Instead, we did a stargazing tour where we learned a lot about the stars and the constellations in the Southern hemisphere. The guide also told us how the old cultures saw the stars and how they used them, e.g. for farming. After the explanations we were able to watch spectular stars and nebulas through telescopes. It was a great experience.

I took this shot very late in the night after the moon was down. Dogs were barking in the distance and it was crisp cold – however, it was worth the effort. The Milky Way is on the right side next to the tree.

After being awake for 22 hours we decided to make a calm day on December 26 and spent some time organising the next legs of our trip. In the evening we made a nice tour to the Valle de Catarpe where Christine drove our SUV through a river. I thought I have to record this and went through the river. And yes, my shoes and the lower parts of my pants were soaked wet, but a photographer has to make some sacrifices. Here is the video:

Rock formations in the Valle de Catarpe

On December 27 we packed our things and left for Calama airport, where we took a plane to Chile’s capital Santiago de Chile. We very much enjoyed the Atacama desert and recommend it highly to anyone who is traveling to Chile.