Ever considered a holiday in Chile? This long but thin slice of South America is a land of contrast and a fantastic playground for budding landscape photographers...
In November 2003 we visited Chile, including the Atacama desert in the north, and Patagonia in the south. Hot and cold. Dry and wet. Fire and ice. Here are three photos from each region to illustrate the flavour of these differing landscapes.
Mars? (Atacama)
This was not ripped from the NASA Martian image archive! When visiting the Atacama desert in Chile's northern region a traditional tourist activity is to watch the sunset from one of the high dunes. The Andes turn a wonderful shade of red in the last rays of the sun.
Moonrise at sunset (Atacama)
We were fortunate enough to witness the rise of a full moon as it appeared from behind the volcano. Volcan Licancabur rises to 5916m. The strip of green in the bottom right is San Pedro de Atacama, the "hub" of desert excursions—and human survival.
El Tatio Geysers at dawn (Atacama)
A popular excursion from San Pedro de Atacama involves getting up in the very early hours and driving higher into the desert to arrive at El Tatio for sunrise. Because of the altitude it is very cold overnight, such that the geysers here freeze over. As the first rays of the sun hit the landscape the geysers defrost and erupt. I would have enjoyed the spectacle more myself, but for the dizziness, nausea, and headache of altitude sickness. It was otherworldly: tourists wandering around in the limited visibility of the steam, and the noise of boiling water.
Man and mountain (Patagonia)
The huaso, or Chilean cowboy, can be seen riding in and around Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. To cope with the cold of Patagonia some are so wrapped up in sheep's wool they almost look like Eskimos. This one rides with his dog towards the impressive Torres del Paine.
Mountainous reflection (Patagonia)
Patagonia is known for its rain and high winds. Apparently you can count the number of "perfect" days on one hand: we had just such a day. Beyond the shoal you can see several beached icebergs; beyond these is Lago Grey (Grey Lake) and in the distance the Glacier Grey. The reflected mountain is Cerro Paine Grande.
Iceberg factory (Patagonia)
The Grey Glacier and Lago Grey on an unusually calm day. Icebergs break off the face of the glacier and are guided by the wind to the far shore of the lake where they beach, slowly disolving in the summer sun.
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