It was just Elijah and I celebrating Passover this year. While members of my family were making their way to Boston, Julie and I were bussing to the Norte Grande region of Chile. I called right before they were about to start the service, and most conversations began with: “Charlie! How are you? No, wait, WHERE are you?!” To which I responded, “The driest desert in the world.”

There’s certainly no Jewish population in the Atacama Desert, but, then again, there’s not much of a human population to begin with. Like the Australian Outback, this desolate land – with no recorded rainfall in some areas – makes for a tough existence.

The most tolerable spot is San Pedro, an oasis town near the borders of Bolivia and Argentina. Until its patches of green came into view, the only bright color we saw yesterday was the yellow of road signs indicating curves up ahead. San Pedro’s mineral wealth originally attracted miners, and now its adobe huts and desert tours attract tourists. Within our first hour here, Julie and I ran into two couples we had met on our boat trip through Patagonia. Same people, very different place.

The competition among various tour companies was overwhelming, so we spent yesterday getting the feel of San Pedro for ourselves. We wandered through the plaza, past old churches, and down the main road, where stray dogs were curled up in the dirt and bonfires were just being prepared. When it got dark, the full moon provided more light than the worn street lamps.

This morning, Julie and I designed our own tour to some natural hot springs. At the bottom of a massive canyon, there were eight thermal pools. We spent two hours checking them out – bathing in one until we got the courage to face the wind and sprint to the next. We got back to town with just enough time to grab an empanada and catch an official sunset tour.

We were packed into a small van with a bunch of Germans and a guide who was practicing his standup comedy – the downside to that kind of tour. The upside – access to unbelievable places. We crouched through caves of salt crystal, we ran down enormous sand dunes, we learned about rocks and erosion, and we hiked on the moon, or the next best thing at least. In “Valle de la Luna,” rock formations covered in salt (though you’d swear it was snow) resemble the moon’s surface. We walked along the ridge of a peak as sunset illuminated the features of harsh landscapes all around.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 13th, 2006 at 8:46 pm in XIX. Chile. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.