1st Nov. 2016
In our travels, we’ve been to many places where tourism is a key part of the local economy (as well as to a few where there just aren’t any tourists). But there are very few places – Queenstown in New Zealand, perhaps – that have completely lost their original identity (their soul) and only exist to support tourists. We can now add San Pedro de Atacama to that list. Whilst, we were warned that this was the case, it is still a shock standing in the narrow, unmade main street and seeing it jammed with backpackers and every other shop being a tour agency.
This, however, is getting ahead of ourselves. Our bus from Calama doesn’t leave until 10:15 and so we have a little time to wander the deserted streets of the town centre. Even better, Alma and Léa (without being asked) have taken an earlier bus and are going to book us on a sunset trip to the Valley of the Moon. It turns out that there isn’t much to see in Calama. The main street is undergoing renovation as is the church which is surrounded by hoardings. Looking for a spot to take a picture of the copper-clad spire, we can also see that there is a bandstand with a copper roof too and we are reminded that LP told us that the town used to be a centre for copper mining.
As it is only 1.5hrs to San Pedro, we booked semi-cama (2nd class) rather than the cama (1st class) seats we had on the way from Iquique. Getting on the bus, we wonder why we spent the extra on that first leg. Although the seats are narrower in semi-cama (2+2 rather than 2+1 layout) the leg room is about the same and, more importantly, it’s upstairs and so gives a better view. Watching the landscape roll by, we realise that there is a reason it is called a desert – flat, arid & barren. Being a weather forecaster here must be one of the easiest jobs on the planet! The flat plain does allow the road to run as straight as an arrow for long stretches and we’re able to get our heads down and work on the blog.
Given the price of hotels in San Pedro, we booked ourselves into a hostel that in practice is indistinguishable from a small hotel. Hostal Solor, is close to the bus station and about a 15min walk from the centre of town. After checking in, our first priority is to start exploring and find somewhere for lunch. We’re getting the hang of this Menu del Dia for lunch – especially as we don’t know when we’ll eat this evening – and we find a restaurant with tasty food that fits the bill. The predominant colours in San Pedro are a grey-brown from the surrounding desert and a pinky-brown from the adobe (mud and stick) walls of the buildings. The church is a classic example and makes a striking change from the whitewashed walls that we saw earlier in the week.
San Pedro is, first and foremost, a base from which to explore the surrounding hills and desert. There are a few ‘must-do’ trips and probably top of the list is the one to the Valle de la Luna to watch the mountains and craggy rocks change colour as the sun sets. The valley is so-named because the landscape formed by wind and flood erosion over millennia, looks to have come from an alien planet. The good news is that it is only 15km or so outside of town, the bad news is that it is a trip that everyone who comes to San Pedro does. So, after meeting up with las chicas (Alma & Léa), not only is our minibus full, but we join a procession of other minibuses heading out of town.
Once again, we are in violation of the 7P rule and know very little about what we will be seeing other than that the classic photo is of a full moon rising in a dusk sky over burnt-orange cliffs. As we are now at a new moon, that is not going to happen! The first stop is a walking tour through canyons where the walls are crystalline and irregular and in places have sharp sawtooth like ridges. There is one path through the canyons and all the groups pass through. At times it is slow progress through narrow paths with low overhangs forcing us to stoop down or crab along diagonally. At one point there is an underground section made trickier by the need to hold camera in one hand and phone with the flashlight on in the other.
Then it is back in the minibus and we head on further into the valley. There is a stop to photograph the famous cliffs from below and they do look stark rising up from the desert floor, but the light is still strong and harsh. Given the essentially bi-coloured scenery, I suspect the photographs will work better in black and white. Then we move on to the Three Marias – wind-sculpted pillars of rock – actually, now the ‘two and a half Marias’ after a tourist broke one of the pillars whilst being photographed giving it a hug. Now there is a boundary line of rocks in the sand and a nearby warden to ensure that we don’t get too close.
The wind-sculpted nature of the pillars should have been a warning to me, but crouching down to take a photo of Janet in front of the Three Marias a gust of wind caught my hat and blew it straight past Janet and up to the base of the pillars. There it sat taunting me. The warden said no, I couldn’t retrieve it because that would lead to a stampede of people crossing the boundary line, and so there it had to stay. I’d bought the hat in Mexico (for the vast sum of about £5) and was getting quite attached to it. Oh well!
Finally, it was back in the minibus to drive up the side of the mountain overlooking the valley to wait for the sunset. The crowds were gathering on the top of the cliff giving a great view over the irregular rocks and hills to one side and of the volcanoes overlooking San Pedro to the other. As the sun dropped lower, the lengthening shadows emphasized the surreal shapes below but then the formation was enveloped in shadow before it really began to catch the orange and red sunset colours. So attention switched to pictures of the spectators enjoying the scenery and to the sight of the nearby volcanoes painted in a rosy glow.
When we get back into town, Alma and Léa want to sign up for another tour tomorrow (with a 6am start) to go see the Piedras Rojas (red rocks). We aren’t sure given that this evening’s trip was so crowded and, to an extent, spoiled by the sheer volume of people. However, after a chat with the tour people about what we’ll be seeing, we decide the purpose of being in San Pedro is to see these places and so we should go. As we are in Backpacker Central, we should take advantage of the opportunities – whilst regretting that the town has been completely subsumed by the tourists.