Desert Narrations
Words from a Place wHere we came home to ourselves somewhere we only dreamed of pointing to on a Map.
Beginning with a Dose of delirium from the 6 hour long stay in the bustling Santiago airport, we landed in CalAma, Chile with some woozy feelings from Strong piscola ( a chilean special of Coca Cola with Pisco Liquor) and a major lack of sleep.
CalAma was strikingly windy and our dreams of desert heat were threatening to not come so true..but we assured ourselves it was early in the day. the sun was still stretching and waking
En route to our desert Bungalow ,we pulled off on the side of the road to step outside of the airport chaos and breathe in the never-before-seen landscapes. The fascinations were just beginning
With our trusty Subaru full of adventurous friends (one stuffed in the back with the bags) we set out for an adventure before we could check into our airbnb for the 5 day stay. We ventured into the city San Pedro nestled into the Atacama Desert to get our bearings straight and Get a feel for life in the desert. The sun finally showed her face and hunger called simultaneously, so we sought out to find some grub and Coffee of course.
An Outside cafe called to us and we nourished ourselves with eggs, toast, marmalade and hot sun, that hadn't kissed our skin in months. maybe ever. We were in one of the driest places on the planet and you could feel it when you inhaled. The depth of the dryness was only felt, not comprehended. Our escape from the City chaos was coming alive though our senses. It was time for the first adventure. We took to the road en Route for Lagunas de baltinache - salt flats in the midsts of the desert landscape. The sensation of floating in water with such a high salt content Felt unearthly- like I was suspended in a space suite. we felt our previous injuries literally being healed by the salt it was truly peculiar and moving to us as a group.
There is no true adventure without problems, so in that case, our flat tire in the middle of the desert was a ..blessing right? After brief panic we were lucky enough to get help from two generous men that were entirely happy to help us out in like record speed.
We spent the rest of our days in the desert exploring valleys of rainbow minerals, sandy dunes, and we tried our best to stalk some flamingos! The roads were rocky as hell but we managed not to lose any more tires. Each day we walked the quiet desert roads to get veggies, potatoes and fruit. it was so intentional and we created amazing food in our itty bitty kithcen. We celebrated birthdays and had dance parties. we smooshed more moths than I ever could have imagined. they kept mistaking us for the moon. We told ghost stories and it was all so beautifully present. We pondered the desert markets and met people who wondered about our travels. we shared a massive bowl of spaghetti in a sand dune while the sun set. We even got pulled over once hahaha. And my god the stars. Everyone needs to experience the spectacular southern sky. The extreme dryness of the desert makes for unbelievably high definition views of the Milky Way and constellations we had never seen before. a whole new sky.
In the Atacama desert I experienced a sense of 'home' I had never felt. it felt like my lineage came alive-as if I had been there centuries ago or something far fetched like that. it was profound to me, and I didn't even conceptualize this until my beautiful friend pointed out how centered and content I seemed. It brought me back to days of becoming the person I am in the deserts of west texas.
I love you Atacama desert! I will never forget how epic you Are
