San Pedro de Atacama: The Desert

Finally freed from the city of Jujuy, we crossed the Paso de Jama at more than 4,250 meters above sea level (nearly 13,000 feet) into Chile and arrived in the much anticipated San Pedro de Atacama. We should have been more concious of the fact that it's in Chile, but we went in with an open mind. Problem one: The only two ATMs in town were out of order and we had NO Chilean pesos. The day was unbearably hot, but not before long the sun set and the temperature dropped dramatically! We spent the afternoon exploring town with our new found friends, Andi and Kirsten, Santiago students from Austria and Germany, and checking out the laundry list of super expensive excursions. The next morning we woke up early, met Andi for breakfast, rented bikes and sandboards on our own, and rode to Valle de the Muerte (Death Valley) to test out our skills. I was just hoping that sand hurt less than icy snow! When we arrived, Aaron set his sights on the highest mountain peak around for the longest and most enjoyable ride down. This is how I was conned into climbing a mountain of sliding sand for over two hours in desert heat!

Finally smiling at the top!

Problem two: Sandboarding is just not fun! Unfortunately, it does not matter how steep a mountain you find, sandboards stick to the sand and you remain immobile. After loads of wax, Aaron got a decent run in and I got a few sand slides that ended with sand in more places than I care to remember! We biked back to town and quickly returned our useless sandboards. After a quick bite and much needed clean-up, Kirsten met up with us, rented a bike and we all headed out to Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). We were hoping to catch the sunset, which was rumored to be a spectacular sight from the valley. First we hit up the caves, formed from hardened sand and salt and then we trekked on to await the sunset.

Crowds awaiting the sunset

Problem three: Sunset overrated and we had to bike home in the dark. After way too much bike riding for one day (and a sore tush), I was in no mood to ride home. The only thing that made it worth it was the incredibly clear starry night in the pitch black valley. Back in town, the four of us decided to go on an excursion to the geisers the following morning. The bus picked us up at 4:30 am and we headed to the geiser park. Problem four: Time of day + altitude = bitter freezing cold. Our guide explained the formation of geisers and walked us around the park. Unfortunately, these geisers do not erupt like those at Yellowstone. You can litterally walk right between and around them. They spray up about 3-5 feet at most, but release plenty of hot steam!

Erupting geiser... see it?

After a chilly breakfast outside in geiser park, our tour took our freezing little tired selves to the hot springs. We couldn't wait to get in! The natural springs were beautiful and had little waterfalls that connected the pools. Problem five: THE HOT SPRINGS ARE NOT HOT!! When we finally got back from the tour, we were ready to bid Atacama farewell and once again leave Chile!

Atacama Desert Photo Gallery

Valle de la Muerte
Sandboarding vs...
Attempting to sandboard!
Biking... again!
Crazy Caves
D, Andi and Kirsten
Sunset at Valle de la Luna
Walking on the moon
What a large geiser you have!
Freezing our toots off!
Sunrise.. finally
Gorgeously un-hot Termas

Northern Argy Road Trip

We departed from Tucumán in our little rental, a VW Gol of course, with Daniela's aunt and uncle, Margotchi and Arnoldo. We had grand plans that were as adjustable as the road was curvy! Day one left us eating Sangia (Blood) oranges and sippin' on maté. After a few pit stops for views and bathroom duties we arrived in Tafi for round 2. After a nice lunch we decided to spend the night. We found a quaint hostel that was super cheap and offered double beds. We then walked the town and Daniela and I spent the evening atop the local mountain jamming out to our iPod speakers and admiring the ridiculously starry night (Milky Way: clear as ever). The next day we awoke early and got on the road.

Despacio...dejame en Paz!

Day two taught us that we had a back seat driver in Arnoldo who always told me to slow down (Despacio, Despacio...I wasn't even driving fast!). We stopped in Amaicha del Valle for a delicious lunch and continued on to Ruinas del Quilmes. The ruins we in shambles, but the day was gorgeous. Later that day we arrived in Cafayate, a small pueblo with nice artesanias and endless Bodegas. We spent the night, packed up early and headed toward Salta. The problem at this point was my health. I hit terrible fevers, sweats, chills, etc. and was in bad shape. The next few days I was the driver and NOTHING else. But, the views en route to Salta were spectacular with a few nice stopping points like the anfiteatro.

Red Rocks, only smaller!

We arrived in Salta, picked a hostel and settled down. I spent the whole time in Salta in bed sweating a shaking. Dani and the fam visited the city which had amazing architecture and awesome sandwiches de miga. Also visited the MAAM (Museo Archeologico de la Alta Montaña) to see the Incan mummies, the Mercado Artesanal, and got the best massages at Touch Spa. A few nights later we hit the road for Jujuy...

...this road to Jujuy, AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING. Curvy, windy, narrow, tree lined, valley ridden and lucious green. Enough said, a beautiful route! We stopped in Jujuy for lunch but trucked on to Tilcara where we spent the night and I laid in bed more. En route to Tilcara we stopped in Purmamarca to see the Montaña de 7 Colores, barbaro! We woke, bought artesanias and trucked on to Humahuaca. There we found peace and tranquility. I was getting better and Humahuaca was the nicest of the small northern peublos. Nice artesanias, good food and a quaint hostel. We turned back to Jujuy where we dropped off the car and said chao to Margotchi and Arnoldo. Dani and I then spent way to many days in Jujuy waiting for the bus to the Atacama Desert, which only leaves three times a week and was unfortunately delayed a day due to road construction. By the way, the city of Jujuy is BORING!

More like 9 colores here!

Therefore, we rented another car and road tripped to the Salinas Grandes (Salt Flats) and visited the amazing Garganta del Diablo, again in Tilcara. Amazing trip with some great hiking to get into the Garganta. The north afforded some of the most spectacular colored mountains we had ever seen. After an EXTRA day of waiting for our Atacama bus, we finally left the northern road trip in the dust, literally!

Amor en las Salinas Grandes

Northern Argy Road Trip Photo Gallery

Natural Toilets are Better!
Artsy foto, eh Daniela?
Her, or the view???
Tafí by night...gorgeous.
Copping a feel in Amaicha!
Enormous cactus at Quilmes
WOW...no the ruins, silly!
Salta architecture
Trippy shot en route to Jujuy
Suck these, no, it's cute!
Daily stretch routine...
Montana de 7 colores...
...now with us.
More colorful mountains
Above ground cemetary
Humahuaca...just awesome!
Donkey, DONkey, DONKEY!!!
Shipwrecked mountainscape!
A gorgeous valley near Cafayate
En route to Salinas Grandes...

... SALINAS GRRRANDES.

Daniela: Salt Flat Model #1

Aaron: Salt Flat Model #2

Chao chao Salinas Grandes

Garganta del Diablo...

...inside the Garganta; fuerza!

Re-run: Mendoza and Tucumán

We finally made it across the border! Back in Mendoza, we decided to rent a moto and explore the city like bad asses. This time we actually peaked Cerro de la Gloria, but (of course) had to go back to the downhill mountain biker track because it too is "bad ass." So bad ass even, that Aaron "thrung" me off the moto heading up the rocky dirt path! Luckily, I survived! Of course before heading out of town, we returned to the most amazing feria in Plaza Independencia for a few more goodies!

We couldn't wait to get back to Tucumán to decompress and finally dump the snowboarding bag and all the extra weight we were travelling with. We enjoyed our days with family and friends: Had an asado with the fam at El Cadillal, a parillada with the gang in San Javier, escaped for a quick day trip with Babi to Las Termas de Rio Hondo, and made it back in town just in time for her birthday!

Once rejuvinated and re-packed, we were ready to set out to the north!!

Re-run: Mendoza and Tucumán Photo Gallery

Biker Babe
Eat my dust!
Awww...
Qué piscina grrrrande!
Babi's Birthday Bash
Who is this sexy man...?
even Soli loves him more!
Killer asado
The band
A "special" ray of light..