San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Here I am in one of the driest places in the world, at an altitude of about 13,000 feet above sea level. Our planet is pretty incredible. This town is unlike any I've ever seen. There is dust and dirt everywhere. It's not a good place to wear white. The town is definitely touristy and a bit expensive because of that, but it's really quite precious. The buildings are all very old and very simple, just one story and made of rock and clay. Probably the most striking thing for me is how quiet it is here, especially at night. There are very few birds here, and at night they must be sleeping. You don't hear any kind of bugs, in fact I have yet to see even a fly. And it's certainly not a place where you hear vehicles and car horns at night. Not even a plane passing by, I think I would definitely notice that. At night that only sound you really hear is the occasional barking dog. It's very peaceful and relaxing.

But also a bit disorienting. When we got off the bus everything kind of seemed like a fuzzy blur, it was hard to process everything I saw as an actual place where people live. I don't know how else to describe it. I think because everywhere you look you just see land covered in dirt, everything is pretty much the same color. And then you realize how high up you are and it's like wow, how does this place exist? There are many volcanoes around, and it's so easy to make out their shape, even the ones way out in the distance because the sky and horizon is so clear.

I have taken many pictures, but again there is the problem of not being able to upload them yet. But as there are two iPhones in the gang hopefully I can steal a picture or two at some point when we find wireless again. It's definitely been harder to find internet access the further up north we go and I'm sure it's only going to get more difficult as we head into Bolivia.

Today we are doing a tour to El Valle de la Luna, the Moon Valley. I am very much looking forward to that, I know it will be unlike anything I've ever seen. Tomorrow we might be heading to Bolivia to do the three day salt flat tour although nothing is set in stone yet. The further I travel the easier it is to just let go and live day by day. Everything always seems to have a way of working itself out. It's liberating to live without following a rigid plan. But as a result I feel so removed from daily life, I never know what day it is and I just can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that soon it will be Christmas.

There is a Christmas tree in the center of town, although I'm not so sure you could actually call it a tree. It is really just a cone shaped structure with bits of fake pine covering it. On top of that are a variety of different flashing lights, and I think each string of lights plays a different Christmas song. The result is very chaotic, it sounds as if you are walking through the aisle of a store after some kid has pushed the button on every electronic toy that plays music. But somehow it is very fitting of the environment.

As I am expecting internet access to be more difficult to come by, I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I will do my best. As always, thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!
Peace and love.