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Atacama desert - 1992
Atacama desert - 1992
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-06-17 16:19:07
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The sun hangs low, just above the horizon. All the terrain swellings lie with long and clear shadows down on the surface of the severe and wild land covered with extraordinary geological forms resembling petrified primordial monsters. I have the impression that my emotions are very similar to those felt by Neil Armstrong when he put his first step on the Moon. The air hot like fire and the atmosphere full of hostility and mystery hanging over the whole area made the ancient people consider this land as a meeting place of the dead ancestors. This is the Moon Valley in the northern Chile, just in the heart of the Atacama desert, which is considered one of the most arid places on the earth and one of the least hospitable places in the world.
I assist to an undescribable show in the evening. The last rays of the sun going down lighten with their red glitter the naked rock massifs, precipitous hills and deep canyons, and in a moment everything seems to be set on fire. Later over this dead „planet”, with a clear, transparent sky in the background, a round face of the moon appears lightening the countless lumps of salt crystals and creating a truly magic effect. These deep emotions alone make this extremely hot and unknown desert worth a visit.
In the late morning I reach San Pedro, a village of less than one thousand habitants. It does not appear spectacular: a few Carob trees covered with dust and the mud houses spread around a white little church in the colonial style. The peasants with their donkeys full of goods roam in the streets and jeeps carrying tourists for a trip in the desert can be seen passing by from time to time.
See photographs from:
Chile Gallery
