Downtime here is best spent drinking a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc at the chic Explorer's Bar, nibbling into a meal of substantial pasta or flaky seafood on the restaurant's wraparound terrace, or just appreciating the charmingly basic rooms and suites' tech-free tranquility. A bonus for finicky packers: hiking boots and dusty walking gear are permitted on site almost anyplace and at any time.
By the time I left the restaurant where I had supper at 7 p.m., the sky had cleared entirely. The first stars began to emerge in the sky. I changed my clothes and put on every item of clothing I had prepared for the vacation. I had the sensation of being a little sumo wrestler lady, but I was determined not to let the cold spoil my evening! A Brief History of the Southern Sky
Visit San Pedro De Atacama
The tourist town in the Atacama Desert is bohemian and cool, with major avenues lined with white and light brown adobe (mud bricks) structures. Tourism is central to life here, with over a hundred tour companies, several restaurants (from affordable to gourmet dining), and pubs. Don't miss the charming plaza with its 17th-century white church, which is said to be Chile's oldest.
In May 1987, I had my first glimpse of the Chilean night sky. I was awestruck by the magnificent Scorpio and Southern Cross constellations, the star-studded Milky Way with its many star clusters and nebulae, and, of course, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (two companion galaxies to our own Milky Way). All of this can be recorded on camera with today's digital technology. It's unsurprising that professional astrophotographers have fallen for Chile. Several of them have been selected by ESO as photo ambassadors, which entitles them free midnight access to observatories and promotes their work on the ESO website. Every tourist to Chile who is curious in the world beyond our own should visit and photograph the country's Norte Grande area. It's a bizarre world of parched deserts, never-ending salt flats, vibrant lagoons, geothermal activity, and intimidating mountains. East of Antofagasta's coastal town, the Atacama Desert resembles a Martian environment. Indeed, here is where planetary scientists tested their Mars rovers' early prototypes. The terrain's alien nature gives the impression that you're wandering on a foreboding but lovely planet circling a faraway star.
