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I have very large nostrils, which I use to hypnotize people. This is what you have to do when you’re a travel writer who doesn’t travel. I draw them in with the seductive power of my nostrils and then they tell me everything. Mostly, I do this on the Chinatown bus. The other day I was sitting next to man I will call Gary, who recently returned from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

The following photos I stole off of his computer.

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Gary says, “San Pedro is the kind of town you visit for a week and end up staying for a year.” There is something very true about this, I guess. Check out this picture of the town.

You’ll notice that nobody walks the streets during the day. Why is that? I have two working theories:

1. It’s deadly hot, which is why visitors motivate either very early or after dark.

2. San Pedro is a fun town. Remember that in fun towns people stay out late, and in San Pedro there are surprisingly many places where to eat, drink and socialize.

The town has a rich history, in fact it is known as archaeological capital of Chile according to its website. But besides the history, which is very old, and the town itself, which has a cool adobe feel, San Pedro has a lot to offer. This is why people end up staying longer than they plan to.

“The only problem”, says a large fatherly man named Jorge, “is tourists are always throwing themselves inside the big dune”. Jorge, of course, is talking about Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, which is about ten miles from San Pedro. With its moonlike landscape, sleek brown dunes and awesome spectral sunsets, it might be one of the most beautiful places you ever see. Just don’t throw yourself inside the big dune.

“Why are people always temped to throw themselves?” I ask Jorge, the large, fatherly man. “I mean, just because a dune is big doesn’t mean you have to throw yourself inside it.”

“It is because of the sign,” says Jorge. “People always want to do what’s not good for them, including smoking, drinking, and throwing themselves inside a big dune. It’s human nature.”

If you don’t want to risk hurling yourself into a beautiful slope of huge brown sand, you might want to see the Geysers del Tatio and then stop at a small village to enjoy some the most savory llama kabobs known to man.

Beside the dune danger in Moon Valley, visitors might experience some mild altitude sickness in San Pedro. At 2450 meters above sea level, you might need to ease into the altitude.

And of course, there could be an earthquake.

“It was a cold and blustery morning,” says Gary. “I was sleeping peacefully, when the ground began to shake. El terremoto, I screamed, but it was too late.”

The earthquake Gary describes had a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale and occurred approximately 60 miles away, so what they felt was more like 5.0. It lasted about 30 seconds. Gary was traveling with John Nash and Mikeypipe.

When I phoned John Nash and asked him about it, he said he didn’t mind the earthquake. “If it happened in Boliva, then I would have hated it,” said Nash. “But it wasn’t so bad in Chile.”

If you are coming from Bolivia, remember to bring your wallet. Chile costs three times more than Boliva.

“Well worth the price,” says John Nash “for roads and working toilets, I’ll pay”.

So if decide to visit San Pedro de Atacama then be sure to visit Moon Valley. Just don’t throw yourself inside the big dune. It might sound tempting, but then again San Pedro is a tempting place, or at least that’s how I gauge it from the pictures I stole with the hypnotic powers of my nostrils.

-Bunk Johnson

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