Empanada Butt
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2008
1
10
14
Trip End
Jun 03, 2008
San Pedro de Atacama,
Chile
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Empanada Butt: A direct result of eating too many empanadas.
We are surviving expensive Chile (the fastest growing currency against the US Dollar) by cooking and eating lots of street food, mostly lots of empanadas. We made our way to San Pedro de Atacama, salt flats in the middle of the driest desert in the world. We arrived late in the evening the other day and were surprised to see all the street lamps out, but thankful for the star-watching. We contemplated camping, but the dark streets and COLD desert nights lead us into a nice quiet hostal.
It is late fall here, which means OFF SEASON. We love off season. We probably couldn´t handle walking these streets with any more gringos than there already are. We´ve gotten great deals on places to stay and excursions. The companies just keep dropping their prices in the competition to get you to go with them.
We awoke at 3:45 this morning to prepare for one of the most extraordinary trips of our lives. We drove 2 hours in the desert (sometimes on a road, sometimes on our own road) to catch the sunrise at Geysers del Tatio. The coldest part of the day is at sunrise because the heat of the sunshine pushes all the cold air down to the earth. The contrast of the cold air with the 85 degree celsius water creates the most action in the geysers. Every seven minutes, each geyser acts up, starting with bubbling, boiling bath and errupting in a cloud of steam and water eight feet high! We found a calmer pool to heat our coffee water and boil our eggs in for breakfast. Once the sun started to warm the landscape, we headed to some thermal baths close by and jumped in, enjoying pockets of heat coming from the geysers that feed this pool. After an eight-hour tour, we returned to our hostel at noon, with the entire day still ahead of us.
Yesterday, we rented mountain bikes and set off into the sand dunes in el Valle del Muerte (valley of death) with a ´sand board´ strapped to Kyle´s backpack. After climbing an enormous dune in the heat, barefoot, we did as locals do (or tried) and boarded down the hill in a blend of surfing/snowboarding/skateboarding. The trick is to keep the nose of the board above the sand and just go for it! The hike back up was the most grueling part. We continued on up the dunes for a breathtaking view of the valley and surrounding volcanos. From there, we rode an additional 15 km to Valle de la Luna (of the moon) to explore some canyons, caves, and climb up to see the sunset. The view from the top looks like the valley has been dusted in snow, but it´s all salt. We´ve never seen anything like it.
The only people who have ever seen Patience mountain bike are Jordan and Liz, and even then, Kyle and Jordan lied about the distance to make us feel accomplished. She reached a new level in Chile, ending with a starlit/head lamp ride back into town in the dark. Take that empanada butt!
We hop on a bus tonight and if all connections go as planned, we´ll be in Arequipa, Peru by tomorrow evening!
We´re sad to have missed Grandpa Bob´s 90th Birthday Bash but hear that it was a hoot! We can´t wait to see him and the rest of our families when we get back!
K and P
Comments
Catching Up
Hi Kids ....
I finally got a minute to catch up on your blog and wow you have been busy and it looks like you are having fun , too.
As the weather cools off down south it may finally be thinking about warming up here.
Your sand boarding reminds me of the kids skim boarding here on the beach. Already they are showing up in bathing suits!!! brrrrrrr
Grandpa's Birthday was a great time. We all miss you two. We will enjoy your visit in June.
Love,
Dad