San Pedro, Chile
Madonna & child in the Ascotan Salar.
On Thanksgiving Day we made our first bivouac. We slept in the Atacama desert at 3400m without a tent or sleeping bag. We had to change our Bolivianos before leaving the border, but no one in Chile wants them. A Bolivian bus driver crossing the border was willing to exchange enough Bolivianos for Chilenos to last us a couple days. The road here is better than in Bolivia, but still gravel for most of the first 70 km, winding around two salars ( salt deserts). At 6 pm salt mining workers got off the bus in a company town as we stopped for snacks. This, the only town on the way, has no room for us. Then a steep climb into a stiff headwind delayed our exit from the altiplano, where we’ve been most of November. The sun set just as we started our descent to lower elevations. When it got dark we put on warm clothes and our headlights. A bright, waxing moon directly overhead also lighted our way. After an hour of cycling in the dark, with very little traffic, we chose to bivouac rather than continue on to another settlement that has no accommodations anyway. Wearing all our warm clothes, we snuggled into a silk sleep sack inside an emergency space blanket, a thin Mylar fabric with a reflective coating that is surprisingly warm; especially with two bodies in a sack made for one. We watched Orion rise in a clear sky; and before dawn the Southern Cross rose as the moon set. I slept little as I had to hold close a rip in the fabric. We got up before dawn to a temperature of 3°C (38°F).
We climb up from the Ascotan Salar before exiting the altiplano.
Julie crawled into the space blanket before I snuggled in with her.
Morning has broken at 3 degrees C.
