Chile is sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. It has the
Atacama Desert that it shares with Bolivia and which is one of the driest deserts
on the planet. But despite that, it too has its beauty.
At the more southern end of the country there are penguins and sea lions and unusual
bird species - particularly around Isla de Damas. Flamingoes in the Andes was a
surprise for me.
The first town you are likely to encounter if arriving from Bolivia is San Pedro de
Atacama, a small desert town that feels like it's a thousand miles from anywhere.
It is one that sticks in my memory more so than almost any other small town I've
been in. Walking around its quiet streets is good for the soul.
A tour from San Pedro that pretty much everyone takes is to the Valley of the Moon,
an aptly named valley in the Atacama. Our tour guide is well known in the area for
his costumes as he leads you through the valley, drawing much attention from any
other tourists in the area. He has outfits for Spiderman, Tarzan etc. With us he
decided to wear his Superman one.
The Andes form a beautiful backdrop for Santiago, one of few large cities that I
find especially attractive. Certain areas of it seem completely separated from its
busy city core and even remind one a bit of Paris.
