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Chile and Easter Island

San Pedro de Atacama is a town set on an arid high plateau in the Andes mountains of northeastern Chile. Its dramatic surrounding landscape incorporates desert, salt flats, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. The Valle de la Luna in the nearby Los Flamencos National Reserve is a lunarike depression with unusual rock formations, a huge sand dune and pink-streaked mountains.

It is located east of Antofagasta, some 60 miles southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano.

The Church of San Pedro de Atacama is a Catholic church in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Constructed during the Spanish colonial period, it is reportedly the second oldest church in Chile. San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an oasis in the Puna de Atacama, an arid high plateau.

More graffiti on buildings.. painted sideways

Lunch stop for today. Another great local treat.

Dining room at Restaurant Tematico. The restaurant has been open for 9 years now. They began by hosting small groups into their family home and quickly grew into a larger operation. The small ranch is an agro-ecological farm with animals, trees, flowers, and nature and culture. It is located in Senderos de Coyo 8 miles from San Pedro de Atacama.

Nicole introducing Daniela Vega Vilches, the owner, her mother, sister and daughter. She started a small business because she enjoyed cooking. Today in just a few years the restaurant has developed a grand reputation among tour groups specializing in local Chilean cuisine.

Outside of the restaurant

The lamb was so good. I went back for thirds.

One of several entrances into Rainbow Valley" revealing its colors in cobalt, gypsum, and lamprophyre, illuminating the flanks of a forgotten river course in a blend of green, blue, pink, and yellow, as if some geological graffiti artist has been in residence

The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of radio telescopes in the Atacama desert of northern Chile. Since a high and dry site is crucial to millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength operations, the array has been constructed on the Chajnantor plateau at 16,000 feet altitude, near Llano de Chajnantor Observatory and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. Consisting of sixty-six 39 feet and 23 feet diameter radio telescopes observing at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths, ALMA is expected to provide insight on star birth during the early universe and detailed imaging of local star and planet formation.

Chile is an astronomer’s paradise. The country is justly famous for its lush valleys and snow capped volcanoes, but its most striking scenery may be overhead. It is home to some of the finest places on Earth to enjoy the beauty of the starry sky. If there’s one country in the world that really deserves stellar status, it’s Chile. ALMA is an international partnership among Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Chile. Costing about US$1.4 billion, it is the most expensive ground-based telescope in operation.

Toconao is a village 24 miles south of San Pedro de Atacama in the San Pedro de Atacama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It lies at an elevation of 8,153 feet above sea level, close to the northeast margin of the Salar de Atacama. The most notable building in Toconao is its church. The bell tower is separated from the main church structure and dates from 1750.

El Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) is located 8 miles west of San Pedro de Atacama, to the north of Chile in the Cordillera de la Sal, in the Atacama desert. It has various stone and sand formations which have been carved by wind and water. It has an impressive range of color and texture, looking somewhat similar to the surface of the moon. There are also dry lakes where the composition of salt makes a white covering layer of the area. It presents diverse saline outcrops which appear like man-made sculptures

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