San Pedro de Atacama

This past weekend I visited the north of Chile for the first time since I was very, very young. Yearning to see the stunning night skies of the Southern Hemisphere, I and two friends (Margarita from Murcia, Spain, and Oscar, from El Salvador, Chile) traveled two hours by plane to the driest desert in the world, and the widest section of Chile. San Pedro de Atacama is a tiny tourist town an hour away from the nearest city; a natural oasis surrounded by the third largest salt flat in the world, mountains, a volcano, geysers, and a wealth of archeological treasures from the Atacamenyo peoples.

In choosing our lodging it became clear that water was an issue - many reviews attested that the hot water shut off at night, and that the water pressure was frequently minimal during the day. And while technically potable, other articles noted that high levels of heavy metals, including trace amounts of arsenic, made it preferable to drink the expensive bottled water. I wonder if the minerals have always been in the ground water, or if they were released by industrial activities.

The commercial part of the town caters almost exclusively to tourists; almost every locale is a.) a restaurant, b.) a souvenir shop, c.) a hostel. The town is tiny, perhaps five by five blocks, all dirt roads. In keeping with tradition, all commercial buildings are made of adobe - excellent for the intense heat of the day, and below freezing temperatures at night. We might have been considerably warmer at night had our hostel room been made of mud bricks as well!


The photos to the right are of the native's houses on the outskirts of the village, the part the tourists don't come into contact with.








On the tours we booked we visited the salt flats, saw the famous Andean flamingos (four species,) passed through tiny adobe villages where all the inhabitants had Altiplano indigenous features, toured salt lakes and pools, saw a herd of vicunyas, and the mountains and salt fields lit by sunset. One night we indulged in a breathtaking visit to an observatory. There were wishes to spare with all the shooting stars that lit the sky above us. And there was no moon at all, making the southern hemisphere milky way shine all the more brilliantly. I guarantee you, the northern milky way cannot compare in complexity or beauty. I saw Saturn's rings, new and old nebulas, a star on the horizon glittering with colors a thousand times deeper than a diamond, the double star system of Alpha Centauri. I learned to recognize the Cross of the South, and therefore how to find "South" by the stars. I am also lucky to have all of my toes and fingers.

Chile supplies 40% of the world's Lithium, and lo and behold, from a high altiplano road the lithium salt pools and processing plant were visible to the eye. The industry sucks water out of the salt flats and forms pools on the surface, collecting the metal when the sun bakes the pools dry. I heard murmers of dissent at such industrial practices - the water table for the region is falling as a result. The water table that feeds the salt pools that have drawn so many tourists, and more importantly, the water used by households, is evaporating into the sun for the profits of the lithium company.

We caught a bus back to the airport as the sun fell, and the moon emerged a pale curved sliver over the bruise hills. Only in an airport so small can you make it with 20 minutes to spare before the plane leaves.