Facebook friends may get the pun in the title, but for those who missed it, we went on a tour of the Valley of the Moon today, where one of the amusing side notes was bumping into a crew doing a model shoot. Or they were shooting a commercial. Either way, not what you expect to find in the desert.
As for the Valle de la Luna, it was aptly named. It is a pretty surreal landscape. In the photos that accompany this post, the white stuff that looks like snow is evaporated salt. There was also a huge dune in one section that fed up to an amphitheater-like opening. The trip included the first hiking of any kind, about 20 minutes uphill, but even at a slow pace we were sucking wind at the start. First time I’ve noticed the altitude, which is odd. I’ve felt it more in Denver, which at 5280 feet is 3000 feet lower than our present location.
Last night we went to another area that is a huge salt flat; it is the third largest in the world. No. 2 is in Utah, and the largest is I think in Boliva, which is just across the Andes mountains from where we are. The Chilean one is home to a flamingo sanctuary. They hang out in shallow salt-water pools feeding on algae and small mollusks. We also caught a nice sunset. It was really dark on the ride back to the hotel and the driver turned too soon into a field instead of the intended dirt road. Thought we’d be stuck for half a moment.
So far the only disappointment is that there is a persistent haze that hangs around the mountains and dims the views. It comes from dust kicked up by a huge lithium mine not far from San Pedro de Atacama, as we mentioned yesterday.
It's What We Do 
It's sad about the haze that hides some of this fantastic sceneryI think you have so much to talk about when you come home-this trip has scenery that I don't think you've seen before. The salt flats look endless – kind of eerie.you did well considering the altitude. the full moon is beautiful here tonite as well.mom
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Hi! It's so great to realize that you had fun with us. We always tried to make your trip more interesting and to fill it with important details of our culture. We will miss you (and I think the chickens will too). You are amazing. Hope you enjoyed your trip, and thank you for choosing Chile as your destination, because we feel so glad and happy when you talk so many beautiful things about our country.”… y verás cómo tratan en Chile al amigo cuando es forastero””… and you will see how they (chilean people) treat the foreign friend”Leo =D
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Leo – Thanks for reading and commenting! As you can tell, you and Jorge were the highlights of the Valparaiso part of our trip. Luckily, we also have one more bottle of wine left to savor the memories… – Pat
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