Atacama Explorer

Sorry! Our motorhomes are out of commission and we are no longer renting. Thanks for asking, and I hope you find a good motorhome!

(Exerpt from A Lady in London)

These are the trucks made for Atacama Expedition. They are full 4x4 and capable of taking a lot. This video shows one of them going down a sand dune entrance to the Bilagallos beach. Only 4x4 cars can even get close to this beach, and the way down is treacherous for those unfamiliar with driving on sand.

Have you ever eaten a sea urchin? Well, can't get any fresher than this way, I assure you.

BBC News article on the driest desert in the world.

The primary cause is a global climatic phenomenon that creates deserts at this latitude on the western coasts of all continents in the Southern Hemisphere. Large, stable high-pressure systems - the one here known as the Pacific Anticyclone -- hover just off the coast, creating easterly trade winds and pushing storm systems away. Meanwhile, the Humboldt Current carries cold water from Antarctica north along the Chilean coast, cooling the westerly sea breezes, reducing evaporation, and creating a temperature inversion (cold air immobilized below a ceiling of warm air), which prevents the formation of high rain-bearing clouds. What little moisture is borne onward by these ocean breezes condenses along the steep Pacific slopes of the Coast Range, creating highly endemic coastal ecosystems composed of cacti, succulents, and other xerophytic flora. The final factor contributing to the formation of the desert is the Andean cordillera, which in the north forms a broad, high-altitude volcanic plateau known as the Altiplano. But whereas in the south, the Andes serve to capture moisture blowing in off the Pacific, in the north the Altiplano seals Chile off from storms laden with moisture from the Amazon Basin, just to the northeast.

It's always a good idea to watch your step close to rocky areas, as sea urchins are common along the Chilean coast. Their tough spines can be dangerous to unshod feet! In this video you can see two kinds. The black ones have longer spines and have no edible parts. The red ones however, can be eaten. Their gonads are a delicacy, and fresh from the sea are sweet, not salty, and can be eaten straight from the urchin's body. Once you crack the sea urchin open, just look for the five long 'tongues' of fiery orange. They are also good prepared with lemon, diced onions, olive oil and salt, or even fried with eggs into an omelet! Careful though, they are very high in cholesterol.

Hunting for food can mean keeping a sharp eye out for hidden friends. These crabs bury themselves into sand bars and flush against rocks. Their shells are encrusted and sometimes nearly completely covered in sand. They also make an amazing meal!

Bilagallos is a rather private beach with crystalline waters, located some 4 hours north north of Antofagasta. With a very nice sandy beach protected from the wind by rocks that frame it, there is plenty to find in the waters that is edible.

"Locates" found underwater. These oceanic snails make a tasty meal if boiled in water, then twirled out of their shell. A bit of mayonnaise is all the dressing they need!

Chilean waters may not be as colorful as those find in the Caribbean, but they are a host to many animals and friendly fish, octopus and more!

As the coast of Chile faces west, every sunset is on the water, the beach a perfect place to sit and watch as the sun changes the colors of the sky into a myriad of pinks, oranges and reds, then to purples and finally letting the dark blue of the night take over. The Atacama Desert is far enough from any city that in many of it's beaches, the skies you see are the clearest in the world during the night.