CAG on travel: San Pedro de Atacama and the altiplano winter

Laguna Miñiques, Antofagasta region

In 2006, I was living and working in Chile at the Natural History Museum of Valparaiso and it was such an amazing experience. Not only is South America one of my favorite places, it is definitely one of the most beautiful. Even though I was living in Chile in the summer/autumn months (January-April), I happened to take one memorable vacation to San Pedro de Atacama with my Greek friend who came to visit, and had a very chilly time.

Chaxa Lagoon

The Atacama Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world with some very unique geological formations, gorgeous vegetation, and some really beautiful wildlife. My friend and I were mainly going to see some scenery, do some sandboarding, and of course I had my eyes set on visiting the R.P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum. Our well planned trip was thrown off by the arrival of the 'Bolivian Winter'. I later found out this is called the altiplano winter effect, and occurs in February relatively frequently.

Suddenly this was coming

Basically our five days of touristy sightseeing were challenged by the monsoon style rains, constant electrical storms, and an insane cold snap. It was probably the worst run of luck, but we still ventured out and although we remained wet for the entire time, it was totally worth it.

On the final day, the weather did clear up and we were even able to dry off, head to the Los Flamencos National Reserve, and experience some of the most beautiful surroundings of all time.

I even got to see my pre-Columbian archaeology and go to the museum- hurray!

Near the R.P. Gustavo Le Paige Museum