Stunning Atacama - Loads Of Beautiful Landscape And Tourists
Posted On Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at at 9:04 PM by Alvin
Having spent a week in the tranquil villages, valleys and cabanas in the northwest of Argentina, arriving in Chile's premier vacation spot of San Pedro de Atacama (SPA) was a full blown shock to the system. Basically, a desert grid village 7 dusty unpaved streets by 7 dusty unpaved streets in size, packed to the brim with tourist money exchanges, tourist hostels, tourist rent-a-bikes', tourist restaurants, tourist tour agencies and tourist souvenir shops - yeh, apart from the weather-beaten church, it was a tourist world out there alright ! But hey, SPA was justly famous for the surrounding volcanoes, salt flats and lunar landscapes and we saw a great deal of postcard-perfect scenery as we crossed over from Argentina. If you hadn't been spoilt as we had by the beautiful landscapes in Argie, then SPA was definitely the place for you ! We made a quick escape from SPA to the copper-mining town of Calama which we found to be edgy and full of character - Chinese-run casinos, African-run telephone shops and streets-full of unlicensed taxis !
A Little Cabana In Purmamarca And The Salt Flats Of Salinas Grandes
Posted On Sunday, March 3, 2013 at at 2:08 AM by Alvin
As we turned westwards back towards Chile, we stayed for three nights at the memorable village of Purmamarca. The peaceful village was memorable for its distinctive colorful rocks as Earth's movement and erosion had left their marks by exposing different minerals of iron, sulphur, copper with their different oxidised appeareances. Hence, the area had been known since aeons as the Hill Of Seven Colors. The village was memorable also for being a bit of a hippy hang-out; in fact, we rented this little cabana from a very hospitable hippy couple who built their one and only cabana from the first stone and the lady made good work in decorating the interiors with fine taste and comfort. We took time out walking around the spectacular rocks and their colors changed as the sun set; we also took a bus to nearby Tilcara who was a military stronghold against the Spanish army with its impressive fortress (Pucara). 
Only 2 hours' drive away from Purmamarca was the blindingly white Great Salt Flats of Salinas Grandes. First we had to drive over the Cuesta de Lipan at 4,170m which offered great panoramic views but little air ! Our expectation rose as we came closer and closer to the Salinas Grandes as at last, we were actually walking on the immense crust and brine of potassium, sodium and lithium - the day was clear and we could hardly keep our eyes open from the stark blue sky and white salt planes. The salt planes were actually productive as we saw trucks, factories and workers busy going about their trade. A tip for you - arrive by mid-morning before the gusty winds picked up and truck loads of tourists arrived from Salta !
