Here we stayed over and refueled (stocking up on both gas and water) in the port city of Antofagasta. Rainfall in the city averages a paltry 4mm a year, but Antofagasta reportedly once had a severe dry spell of 40 years without a single drop of rain!
It looked like our long drive through the desert was just about to get even dustier.
The Atacama Desert is Chile's industrial north. Here copper is king- huge mines dot the desert landscape, processing plants shoot up steam night and day, and massive trucks trundle up and down the pristine highway, carrying copper to international destinations through Antofagasta's busy port.
Antofagasta's beaches are some of the sunniest on earth:
Dan fuels up on his favorite Chilean meal: churrasco!
On the road from Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama. Nothing but dirt and rocks for miles and miles, and no rest areas to speak of. But the Chilean roads are world class- it was smooth driving all the way:
Most weekenders from Santiago travel by air to the north, on their way to San Pedro de Atacama, near the Bolivian border. We passed the airport at Calama where they typically fly in:
Finally we made it! The road into San Pedro de Atacama is all downhill:
Valley de la Luna (Valley of the Moon):
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