Our final destination in Chile was to be the Atacama Desert. Once again we packed up the ski gear and put it into storage at the Santiago Airport and then hopped on a plane North to Calama. There we rented a car and made the drive to San Pedro de Atacama where we would spend the next week exploring the wonders of the Atacama Desert.
The Atacama Desert in Chile in the driest place on earth. Nestled in the rainshadow of the Andes it averages just 0.004 of an inch per year. (That's 4 one thousandths of and inch, yep, it takes 250 years to rain one inch) There are places in the Atacama that it has not rained at all in over 400 years. Being the driest place on earth does not mean there isn't any water there. Quite the opposite Lakes and rivers abound fed by the snow capped Andes to the East. At approximately 8,000 feet in elevation, the Atacama rarely gets hot, it averages only 63 degrees (18 C) year round. Other interesting facts about the Atacama is that at an estimated 150 million years old it is the oldest desert on the planet. The El Tatio Geyser field is the highest in the world, 4,320 meters (14,170 ft), and after Yellowstone in Wyoming, the Valley of the Geysers in Russia it is the 3rd largest in the world. It is also lush with life, plants have adapted to existing on moisture from the fog or evening dew that occasionally forms during the cool evenings.