Crossing from Argentina to Chile (San Pedro)

Passing from Argentina into Chile:

Like an army of mad bandits running through the dark of night, I escaped the cold torture of the Bolivian altiplano, and tasted the last days of the colorful waning Argentinian autumn. Now in this time being the general of travel that I am, I have launched the orders thru the ranks. The weary are once again motivated. The battle wounds from this incessant journey have momentarily healed. Onward thru the dawn into Chile, I will pass. There´s no stopping me now! A Peruvian return is not only a foreseen destiny, it is in evitable. Chile´s Norte Grande will soon be conquered and a clean sweep from Cusco´s ancient revered epicenter will be had. One by one I will take South America!

Like most other spectacular South American settings, the passing from Argetina into San Pedro de Atacama, Chile contains verdant landscapes littered with remains of lost civilizations and vistas of snow capped craggy Andean peaks indelibly chisled by the sacred spirits of the mountains. These landscapes appear as if God came out of the sky and personally sculpted them. In this perspective appears a perfectly transitory blend of light, blue firmament with a thin white backdrop of clouds against the verdant cactus studded divinely carved mountains. In the center of the sky stands the almighty Incan worshiped sun which perfectly illuminates the spectacular scenery.
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While I paint my masterpiece (first night in San Pedro de Atacama):

This quaint desert town evokes eclectic vibes. The wave that you feel upon the first hours is one of extreme remoteness; however, as day becomes night the mood quickly changes to realize that this town is still in the throws of a primitive ambiance.

While I walked thru San Pedro´s limited but inviting streets with my torch, I found the heart of the town. After a quick dinner I found myself in a livily bar with traditional Andean music piping out of a local band. Had I been transported thru time in a portal to a small town alive 100 yrs ago or was Jaba the Hut sitting close by in the bar waiting for Lando Carillsen and Luke Skywalker to appear...wait I think I hear Chewbaca´s roar.

This was the spookey yet inviting feel that was evoked during my first night in Chile´s San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro offers such a unique enviromentl that you drift along it´s streets as if in a dream. The feeling reminds much of being in a Dead or Panic parking lot scene. In this truely unique spot you become a fixture of the environment...much like the Twlight Epispode where the main character returns night after night only to be trapped in the same repetitive scene.

Any town where half the bars and restaurants use candle light in 2006 as a standard for illumination, becomes a wonderful pueblo for exploration and magical tranquillity before the next launch of the journey.

All I have on this journey to accompany me is my trusty ¨mochilla,¨ (backpack). Sometimes when we reduce ourselves to the simplest of settings with minimal belongings, we are forced thru frugality to find the quintessential core of the Earth´s aesthetic beauty. During my morning stroll in the Atacama, the driest spot on the planet, I found an ancient graveyard deadicated to ¨Pachamama (sp?),¨ Quechua for ¨mother Earth.¨ In this tranquil spot surrounded by towering snow capped Andean Peaks, I kindly observed piles of volcanic, quartz, and pyschedelic rocks which were symetrically placed for the gods of the mountains to observe and bless. In the blink of a monumental now forgotten thunderstorm of time, a hard worked man who knows not the throws of modern dinero, painstakingly placed these stones in a precise and symetrical position. These men didn´t know the trappings of our modern culture. As I´ve been reduced to packing a few key belongings day after day, I´d like to communicate that I can remotely relate to the beauty of ancient simplicities.

One other point of clarification for this travel, the destination has little if no relevance to the journey. The main understanding and points of observation should be observed thru the day to day minute to minute, beauty that is caught and obtained during the transaction of the sojourn.

Notes:
Hostal in San Pedro de Atacama : Hostal Soncheck...great setting!
Beer that I liked: Austral Lager...this beer is made from the water in Punta Arenas which is in Chile´s Lake region.