Northern Chile

Hey everyone!

So Chile is great. We didn´t realize it was the most expensive country in South America, but it´s a little too late for that now! After crossing the border we went to a beach town called Iquique. It was just wonderful- the beaches are very similar to those in California, complete with freezing water and all! We did some sand boarding (much slower and dirtier than snow boarding) and rode around on an ATV through the dunes. I actually rolled an ATV down a 200 foot dune with Amy on the back. She shouldn´t have been leaning so much! Also, the seafood here is incredible. We were able to get some fresh food while watching sea lions fight pelicans on the shore. Great entertainment!

Now we are getting ready to leave San Pedro de Atacama. This is the driest desert in the world (no idea why we wanted to go to a desert again!). We saw some geyers, swam in a hot springs/river, saw flamingoes dance in the alitplano lakes, and hiked around a place called Valle de la luna (Moon Valley). It was rumored that the US actually filmed the moon landing here back in 1969. I´ve never been to the moon, but I think it´s a dead ringer for it!

We are going to catch a bus now to the city of Calama to get on a flight to Santiago. We thought it was better than riding on a bus for 24 hours straight! When we get to a place with some decent internet service we will post more pics. We promise! Hope to talk to you all soon and happy birthday to my mom, Wendy, tomorrow! See you all from the south of Chile!