Getting through customs and the Border Police was a slow process, mainly because of the sheer amount of people that were crossing at the same spot and same time from the end of the salt flats tour. Although the restrictions on what you bring into Chile were definitely more defined than when getting into Bolivia which was literally just walking into a building, getting a stamp and going in. In Chile they are far more restrictive on what you can bring in, in terms of food or products from other countries.
Getting into San Pedro de Atacama was quite different. A small town of maybe half a dozen thousand inhabitants sitting in the middle of the desert, filled with tourists. The only things that could be found here were restaurants, tour agencies and hostels/hotels. San Pedro has been my most expensive stop throughout my entire trip so far. I flew through money, inexplicably. Narrow, dirt roads made up the entire town. Bikes were the most common means of transportation, tourists being able to rent them from just about any business for a relatively cheap price. This is a good way of getting around the town and a cheaper option to seeing some of the sights which lie only a few kilometers outside of the town. Thomas and I decided this made the most sense and would allow us to make the most of the day. The first day in San Pedro we did very little and both agreed that neither of us wanted to do anything on Christmas day. San Pedro is said to have a great observatory areas situated in the desert and is one of the best places to have crisp clear sightings of stars. We both decided it would be good to try to do this while we were here. Unfortunately we were blessed with unusual weather both nights that there were arranged groups and the tours were immediately cancelled from an over-abundance of clouds. The town is also surrounded by many natural beauties of lagoons, valleys, geysers and volcanoes. One could spend several days visiting it all, although, coming from Bolivia where we were trapped in a vehicle and visiting lagoons, geysers, and mountains. We were in no hurry to go and visit more of the same thing. La Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) is the major site in San Pedro and is a mere 15 Km out of town. La Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) is another valley where one can go sandboarding and is only 5 Km or so away. We rented the bikes for the day and visited nearby ruins, and both of the Valleys, timing the Moon Valley for the sunset, when it is best. We set out just after 12, the sun was piercingly strong, always present, beading down on our backs, making the day´s excercise even more difficult. In the driest dessert biking over soft sand that simply fell away under the weight of the bike, making it very difficult or even impossible at times. The jagged mountains and cliff faces were made of bubbly rock that has dried out so much that it simply crumbles to the touch. Winding our way further through these rock crags towards the death Valley we began to lose motivation at actually reaching the destination, under that heat, turning back to town for a break and water sounded like a better idea, we also were not expecting the death valley to look much different than what we were biking through. We pushed on, thinking ¨we have come this far¨, and upon arrival we´re exposed to a much different sight than before. Hot dessert dunes rose up hundreds of meters off in the far distance, surrounded and speckled in between these dunes and rising out of the sands like living creatures were more of these crags and long spines of rock that rose and fell for hundreds of meters in length, resembling greatly the spines or backs of some ancient dinosaur. We left the Valley quite satisfied and glad that we pushed on. Most of the ride back to town was on the highway, a perfectly paved highway with guard rails and 2 meter wide shoulders. Crisp, clean lines defined the boundaries and median of the road, we we´re definitely not in Bolivia anymore... Even walking through San Pedro, a small dessert towns, new, quality vehicles would often be seen driving about the dirt roads. This was an enormous shock to me at first. We took a short break out of the sun in the hostel, re-hydrated and headed back out in a different direction to catch the famed sunset in the Moon Valley. The ride there was excruciatingly difficult and slow because of the immense amount of head-wind, which even made descent a struggle. Not to mention that by this point we had been several hours riding now and our asses were beginning to feel the south american bike quality. Finally, upon arrival, we were rewarded with the impressive moon valley. Following a tiny path through a crevice with rock walls and stagmites rising up steeply on both sides was fun. Ducking through a labyrinthe of caves and darkness, and coming to the realization that it was not rock, but clear crystal that surrounded us, on all sides, stained brown from years of dirt settling and clinging to its surface, becoming one. The textures of the rock made it feel as though we had travelled to a different planet. The erosion looked like it was from years of water sliding down in thin lines down the face, leaving singular lines of erosion all over the surface, almost like water dripping through sand. We biked on deeper into the valley, more climbing, powerful gusts of wind and sand that attacked at our bare skin and nearly blowing us off the road. The scenery throughout the valley was amazing, different at every turn, with different looking rocks, or random enormous sand dunes or walls. After we had gone to the furthest point and began to turn back, rushing to get back to the viewpoint for the sunset, the wind at our backs now, the going was quite easy and effortless. The sky was filled with clouds so we we´re not expecting much of a sunset anyhow, but the going was not over yet. Not long after turning back my ass started feeling more and more of the bumps, looking down, the back tire was completely flat. Standing on the side of the road, we spent nearly the next hour trying to work out how to fix this tire with the faulty equipment that we had been blessed with. Eventually it was completed and we carried on riding back, not expecting to see any beautiful colours in the sky, as we came around a bend Thomas, who was leading, exclaimed ¨fuckin´ell!¨ as we were blasted with orange, purple and red difracted through the fog directly behind a distant mountain, defining its shape. An unexpected treat it was. The ride back to town was amazingly easy, with a large part of it being exilaratingly dangerous for the down-hill pitch.
As soon as we got back we went out for a Christmas dinner that was crazy overpriced and only ¨good¨ lacking the AMAZING that I wanted to expect for that price. The day of biking and the bottle of wine with dinner left us absolutely exausted and we rushed back to the hostel to pass out. The next day, Christmas day, I awoke early and went to purchase bacon, eggs, bread, and peanut butter, (the first time I had seen it anywhere!!) It was a homey breakfast. I spent the whole day talking with family and relaxing. That evening Thomas and I were invited out with a few others staying in the hostel, all Chileans. One was already drunk upon going out and was an absolute mess, providing much entertainment and the bill, including food and four bottles of wine. No one objected against his drunken generosity. Here in the group was a girl that happened to live in Valparaiso, where I was planning on going for New Years. She said I could definitely stay with her, which would save me likely around 100 dollars on accomdation over 2 or 3 nights, the price being so heavily inflated for the famous event. You never know what the world will throw at you next.
The next day, Boxing day, Thomas and I embarked on the 23 hour bus ride that would take us to Santiago, far south, the capital of Chile, and hailed to be the most developped city in South America. Who knows what the big city and new years would have in store, I was full of anticipation.
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