San Pedro de Atacama is a tiny little town which is very much on the gringo trail through this corner of South America, and had more tourists concentrated in one spot than we've come across since leaving the Galapagos. It meant prices of food and accommodation were high, but in the middle of the desert all those tourists must put an incredible pressure on resources. Occasionally the water pump would break down, and the entire town would be without water....or at least that's what we were informed by our hostel staff.
One of the highlights of our stay was a tour of the southern night sky given by a French astronomer who has been living in San Pedro for over 10 years (a lot fewer clouds in the desert than in Normandy!) We huddled outside while this enthusiastic Frenchman gave us a tour of constellations and explained how our view of the stars was affected by the rotation of the earth and our position on the planet. Pointing madly with a laser pen (I want one!) he pointed out constellations and educated the ignorant (ie all of us) as to the history and uses of star gazing and the basics of what we could see. We were then shown various star clusters, nebulae, planets etc through telescopes he'd built himself before being warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate in his home. His enthusiasm was so infectious I'd (Lesley) half resolved to try and new career in astronomy by the end of the evening... but on further reflection spending my life in the dark in a desert didn't seem such a good life plan.
Low point - altitude sickness - we went to visit some of the altiplano lakes (see photos) at over 4,300m and my head felt like it was going to explode... the only place I was comfortable after that was lying down in the dark with my eyes closed... apparently the lack of humidity can increase the effects of altitude - I certainly didn't feel as bad in Ecuador. Chewing rank-tasting coca leaves was the only way I managed to walk across town with my backpack to get a bus out of the town (and escape the altitude). Rick didn't seem as affected, but I was a picture of the pathetic gringo traveller...
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