To the Moon and back
“I’d be flying to the moon and back, If you’d beeee, if you’d be my babyyyy….”
Remember the Savage Garden’s song from the 90s? As we are each other’s baby, it was imperative to get to the Moon. We did not fly though, we went there on minivan. Bicycle could have also been an option, but I was too afraid of not having enough air on the Moon…ha ha.
Jokes apart, the visit to the Moon Valley in Chile was spectacular. It was the most unique, breathtaking, different place we’ve ever been to. No wander it’s called Moon Valley: it looks like nothing on Earth, but most likely as the moon itself. In fact, it is a part of a Salt Mountain range, with large stone walls that resemble those in Arizona’s Grand Canyon.
Our first stop was a salt cave in which we had to sneak through narrow paths, sometimes almost on our fours, with no light. Of course I couldn’t pass without licking some salt on the walls. It was awesome…and salty. Next, we stopped in front of the “Three Maries” – 2 rocks apparently having the shape of women doing different activities (in my opinion they looked just like some tree trunks). Why “Three Maries” and not just two? They’ve been 3 until not long ago when a Chinese woman tourist wanted to take a picture on the top of the third Marie, kicking her to the ground…what a soulless people!
We finished the tour at “Piedra del Coyote” viewpoint with an amazing sunset over the valley. Imagine just a picture of the sun laying down its light on the deserted rocky moon. It’s like a fantastic postcard!
San Perro de Atacama was our base for the trip…sorry, San Pedro. But many people call it like this due to the amount of dogs on the streets (“perro” means “dog” in Spanish). I do not remember the exact number but it was around 1 dog for 3 people. Most of them were nice and friendly, but still… However, after Southern Peru and Bolivia, we felt like being back to normal society from the very first moment of stepping into this small town: clean, good roads, smiling people, tasty food. So good to find you again, sweet civilization! Nice to meet you, Chile!