Valley of the Moon and Death-Mars

The final leg of our farewell tour brought us to San Pedro de Atacama and surrounding area. There is much to say about unearthly beauty and life in the world's driest desert and how Atacama is constantly trying to turn every living thing into a mummy, but I can't get my mind around expressing it well right now. Instead, I give you: some pictures.

Do you see three Marys? There are supposed to be three Marys.

I dub this one, "Crabby Sea Monster That Doesn't Like Birds"

One of many volcanoes in the area (Ring of Fire, after all). The white stuff
on the ground is not frost but a micro-organism that shows up if there's been
any moisture at all, and it had actually snowed a few days earlier.

 

Yep, it's a desert.

Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)

Moonscape with moonbus driving through

Salt caves with cool salty formations

Artful salt

This was named Mars (marte) Valley by the local Belgian missionary priest/
nature enthusiast, but his Spanish accent was so bad people thought he was
saying Death (muerte) Valley. At this point, take your pick.

Moon over Mars

The rock formations of Death