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We had an early start flying to Calama which is 900 miles north of Santiago. There were spectacular views of the snow covered Andes all the way. There was absolutely no people or animals all the way and almost no plants. We were met at the airport and driven a 100 kilometres north to San Pedro de Atacama. This area is mining and there were signs of mines visible from the road. The road climbed steadily without many twists and bends to over 3000 metres before descending into the valley at 2,100 metres. San Pedro is a small town with no metalled roads, the buildings are clay construction giving the whole place a rustic charm. No sooner had we settled in we set off on a tour to Death Valley and Moon Valley. There were spectacular rock formations with the White areas being a combination of salt, silica and basalt. Death Valley got its name as a result of a mix up by the locals after a Belgian geologist had named it Mars valley because of the red rocks. The locals heard Morte not Marte and the name stuck. There was a lovely sunset over Moon Valley which we captured from a rocky promontory before heading back to the hotel. We will sleep well tonight even though are bodies are still jet lagged
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