Touring the Atacama Desert

Today was like spending a day in Tatooine. It’s hard to put the magnificence of the place into words…awe-inspiring…stark…magical…desolate…alien…awesome! It was immediately obvious to all why they tested the Martian rovers in this place of wonder. Our day started at the largest open pit mine on the planet, Chuquicamata Mine, where they mine copper. Many of the boys will have pictures of themselves next the first boulder mined from the pit, one example is shown below.

Next we moved on to a small town, San Pedro de Atacama, where the boys gave a concert in a small, but beautiful, chapel in the middle of town, filled with shrines and relics. Our interpreter, Heidi, tells us that the town has become a draw for the “New Age” crowd, and we did see a group yoga event on the approach to the town. Most importantly for the home crowd, the boys were able get much of their souvenir shopping done in the market, which had many bargains on beautiful alpaca clothing items, art pieces, leather goods, and of course, kitschy souvenir items.

Next on the journey was Chaxa Lake in the Flamingo National Reserve. The pictures will do it more justice than a description, but it was truly an example of life overcoming adversity – beautiful, pink, flamingos in lakes formed on salt flats in the driest spot in the world. A real bonus was that the national park ranger insisted that the tour remain completely silent, so the flamingos would not be scared away. Experiencing this magnificent spot in complete silence was truly inspiring.

Finally, we visited the Valley of the Moon at sunset. Our first view of the valley was a tremendous sand dune that appeared untouched by people or time. Further up the pathway, we got a spectacular view of this barren, alien landscape, and watched as the shadows cast across the valley grew in length and depth as sun dropped below the horizon.

Today was truly awe-inspiring! The real value of the tour journals will come through, as your children convey their thoughts about this fascinating place. Perhaps the pictures below will give you a taste of the wonder we experienced today.

Zack C. and Max M., two of our Spanish-speaking choir members, have written a paragraph for any Chileans following the blog in their native tongue:

En Español:

En Calama y San Pedro de Atacama, la segunda parada de nuestra gira, disfrutamos el bello paisaje del desierto de Atacama. Fuimos al Valle de la Luna, y miramos las montañas iluminadas por el atardecer. También fuimos al Salar de Atacama, donde vimos los flamencos en el lago rodeado por la sal blanca. Paseamos por el salar en silencio, y eso fue una experiencia mágica.