At approximately 100 kilometers from Calama, the driest desert in the world jealously hides a small oasis called San Pedro de Atacama.
A village of dirt streets and adobe housing that have stolen the heart of thousands tourists with the charms of the Atacama and Spanish culture evidenced in each one of its buildings.
Would you like to accompany me as I wander around this town? We start walking on Caracoles Street with a sky so blue that seems to blend in with the ocean.
Foreigners from all nationalities walk beside us. Our path begins to grow with tourist agencies, restaurants, hotels, accommodations, call centers and all the services that a tourist might need for his adventure to the incredible wonders that enclose the area.
If you ask me, you can’t miss visiting the Moon Valley and the Tatio geysers during your stay.
We continue walking towards Plaza de Armas, where we rest a few moments below the shade of tamarugos and algarrobos.
Sitting on a stone bench, you mention to me that you are very surprised with the white church we just passed together, as well as with the cemetery and the arts and craft market.
– Is the culture of San Pedro which is everywhere – I explain excited to remember this legacy born 11,000 years ago with the first communities of atacameños and who continued forged with the Inca invasion of the fifteenth century and the Spanish influence that arrived a hundred years later.
After listening, you get a bottle of water and offer a toast to this fascinating village, which I gladly accept.
– Cheers to San Pedro de Atacama! – you toast and we both drink in honor of the archaeological capital of Chile.