In And Around San Pedro de Atacama

     
    climbing sairecabur
    Climbing Cerro Sairecabur, the tallest mountain in that region of the Andes (Elevation 19613 feet, 5978 meters). Cerro Toco, the telescope site is in the background.
       
    sand dunes
    Sand dunes just outside San Pedro
       
    sand dunes
    More sand dunes...


    Horseback riding was my favorite sport in San Pedro. The dunes are a perfect place to let the horses out to run.


    Another evening ride into the dunes.

    the town

    A typical road through town.


    Randy and Amber swimming in the natural hot springs not far from San Pedro


    Randy and Ricardo swimming in the hot springs

    Eugenio, Amber, and Lyman walking through the salt canyons near San Pedro. You can hear the salt cracking around you at dusk as the temperature changes.

Driving dune buggies (I'm lounging in the buggy)


We made friends of some carabineros posted near the Chile-Bolivia border. Wild llamas are shown in the background. They came rollng down the hill when they showed up - very funny sight.


    Close -up of a couple of not very shy llamas


    Ancient petroglyphs


    A series of small walls - ruins from the ancient Atacameno tribes who lived in this region of the Andes before the Incas
    valle de la luna
    Licancabur and Toco in the background as viewed from Valle de la Luna
       
    the river valley
    The river valley. All the water to San Pedro comes from this river. This region of the Atacama is so dry that only roughly 1 cm of precipitation falls each year - mostly in the form of dew. These dry conditions, in addition to the high altitude make this an excellent place for astronomy.


    Windswept sandstone seen from the road leading into San Pedro


    Amber and Roberto on the way out for a ride.

    the town
    Giving a slightly different meaning to the excuse "I was stuck in raffic"
     


    Dusk in San Pedro
     

    amber and randy
    Amber and Randy at the salar. Cerro Toco and the Volcano, Licancabur are to the right in the background.

    A salt lagoon in the foreground with the currently active volcano, Lascar in the background


    Another view of the same salt lagoon - a natural sanctuary for flamingos (not shown in photo)


    Amber standing in front of a large lagoon somewhere near the border of Chile and Argentina


    Another view of the same lagoon


    Here they have pretty much lost interested in us


    A wild vicuna - an animal similar to a llama with a more delicate build that lives at high altitude in the Andes
     
     
     
     

Natural Geysers High in the Andes