Landscapes

A view out the window on the busride from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile to Salta, Argentina. This 10-hour busride takes you through the Andes and is known to pass by many beautiful landscapes...lush ones, barren ones, colorful ones like that pictured, we even passed through a violent hail storm.

Lunar Landscapes

San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) is an extremely touristy little town--gringos outnumber locals by a longshot. There are many companies vying for your patronage on a number of different tours including star gazing, lunar landscapes, sandboarding, etc etc. We chose the lunar landscapes tour which takes you through the "Valle de la Muerte" (Death Valley) and "Valle de la Luna" (Moon Valley).

Tourists by the busload

photo-op

I don't know if this qualifies as lunar, certainly beautiful

Death Valley

Liz in a salt mine

all of Death Valley is made of salt, the miners even built their homes using big bricks of it for lack of better materials!

Moon Valley

a rock monster

watching the sunset in La Valle de la Luna

Doppelgangers

This vampire is the mascot for an ice cream company we've come across frequently in South America. Doesn't he look a bit like John Travolta?

San Pedro de Atacama

We spent a couple of nights in the quaint desert town of San Pedro de Atacama.  The center of town is packed with restaurants and shops.  In the central square, giant trees protect a scattering of benches from the harsh desert sun.

...but literally a two minutes walk from the center is complete nothingness; desert for as far as the eye can see.  This is the view out the front door of our hostel, on the top left you can see the Licancabur volcano.

Mannequins of Arica

I can easily say that the mannequins of Arica are much creepier than any we've come across in our travels so far--they're dated, broken, dramatic, depressed, angry, bald, naked...you name it:

Yes, these mannequins are chained together by their necks... perhaps it takes a bit more to catch the attention of South American shoppers?

Octopus Ceviche

On our last night in Arica, our hostel owner's friend Eddie (owner of a popular empanada stand), taught us how to make octopus ceviche. Now, we'll teach you!

First, boil the whole octopus for 45 minutes-1 hour in salted water. You'll know when it'd tender because you'll be able to cut it with a fork. (A lot of recipes reccomend putting a cork in the water to help tenderize the octo. Eddie didn't, but it can't hurt, right? You can also freeze the octopus to tenderize it, or beat it with a rolling pin...)

For the marinade:

- 5 tblsp lime juice

- 1/4 c finely chopped red onion

- 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 2 tsp finely chopped scallions
- finely chopped hot pepper, serrano or red chilies to taste (we
  used one hot pepper)
- salt and pepper to taste

Cut the octopus into bite-sized pieces, toss with the marinade, and voila!

Arica Surf House

Arica Surf House has edged out Pariwana as our favorite hostel in South America. The space itself is so terrific that one hardly notices the complete lack of amenties (breakfast, hot water, organized activities, etc.). We´ve spent four nights here, and are continuing south tonight with heavy hearts and excellent suntans. Next stop: San Pedro de Atacama.

Partially open-air common room/kitchen with unreal view of the stars at night.

Our airy, bunk-bed-free dorm room.

The hostel´s owner, Kurt, is always down to dole out surfing tips or lead a workshop in sushi-making.

Arica

We have been having a wonderful time in Arica, a beach town in Northern Chile.  It truly feels like vacation...we've been reading on the beach, cooking great meals,  swimming in the ocean, and watching friends from the hostel surf what are supposedly some of the best breaks in South America.