Monday 26 May 2014

The Amazing Atacama

Hello.  I'm in the Atacama Desert in the North of Chile.  Apparently it's the driest desert on earth!

You haven't heard from me for a while because I've been driving around in a four-wheel drive and camping in the desert.  The stars are amazing at night because there are no lights from towns or cities to block the view.  That's why lots of countries have built telescopes here to find out more about the stars.

You might think it would be nice and warm in a tent in the desert but actually that's not true.  It's very warm here in the day but very cold at night.  Some nights it was -10 degrees in my tent!

There are lots of amazing rocks here.  In some places it looks a bit like you are on the moon or another planet.  In fact, I visited a place called 'The Valley of the Moon'.



There are also lots of volcanoes here.  Here I am at the top of Volcano Toco, which is over 5,500m high.



There is an area full of geysers.  They look like pots of boiling mud and they let off gases.  The fumes  come from deep down in the earth where it's very hot.  The heat makes some of the nearby pools of water nice and warm, so Robin's auntie and uncle went for a swim.  I decided not to bother though, as my fur doesn't like getting wet.




There are also lots of salt flats here.  They're a bit like a sea that has dried out.  Instead of salty sea water you just get layers of white salt on the ground.  It's very strange!

There are also some lakes with flamingos.  The scenery is amazing!




I'm off to Bolivia tomorrow so I'll send you my next update from there!


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