atacama

we swapped the cold weather, patagonian lamb and mountains for extreme of a different sort. the atacama desert was the stuff of legends, having only read about death valley and its many curiosities. after a week in patagonia, it made sense to complete our time in chile with the desert. this time, the mister had wised up to my sun-averse ways and in our first meeting with the guide, made his brief, well, brief. "my wife does not do well in the sun." you should've seen the guide's face. he must've thought we were crazy to be in the hottest, driest desert in the world and not want to be in the sun. to his credit and sheer professionalism (we've not had the pleasure of being with a better guide) managed to keep me out of the sun for three whole days. in the desert. this is a feat so amazing i cannot begin to describe how good he was. somehow he found and plotted walks and trials that were IN THE SHADE or had the sun on our backs. madness. pure skill. i was beyond thrilled. so indeed, it is possible to go to the atacama and not leave charred to crisp. 

the amphitheatre in the valley of the moon

sunset over death valley

glamping!

retreat at dusk