20th December 2024

We woke naturally but with hungry stomachs. On exploring the hostel we found an orange aerial silk hanging from a tree and I couldn’t resist a little play. We headed into town in search of breakfast. Not much was open at this time, but we found a cafe called Roots which has outdoor seating under large yellow triangles of canvas to help protect us from the sun.

With full stomachs we headed out to explore town. San Pedro de Atacama is an unlikely oasis in one of the driest, nonpolar deserts in the world. The town is made up of small clay buildings which look plain and weather worn from the outside, but once through the doors are full of colour and life. Between buildings the red dust is kicked up by walkers, cyclists and the wind that funnels down the streets.

We returned back to the hostel to undertake chores before relaxing in hammocks shaded by olive trees. It was very hot, but the type of heat where sweat would instantly be claimed by the dry air.

We returned to town for dinner where we enjoyed a good meal before wondering to the meeting point for our star gazing tour. We left at 09:30pm in a mini van and drove for about 20 minutes into the desert away from main light sources. We unloaded and the minivan scurried away leaving our eyes adjusting to the dark. The sky appeared alive with light, stars twinkling, planets consistently glowing and the occasional shooting star cutting through the darkness (bonus points if you can spot the shooting star in the photo above!).

With the naked eye you could see Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars. These shone brighter than stars due to their closer proximity to earth. We also identify an upside down array of constellations including Taurus, Orion, and Canis Major. In addition we could see a nebular on the dagger of Orion. Finally, to the south we could see magellonic clouds (dawf galxies) which appeared like clouds to the naked eye but under the telescope glittered with stars. 

Under the telescope we looked at Sirius, the closes star visible to us in that moment, a mere eight light years away. It looked like the most brilliant sparkling diamond I have ever seen, rainbows dancing as it glimmered. My favourites were seeing Jupiters moons, which sat in a perfect line, and the rings of Satin.

Seeing the stars at night in the Atacama desert has been a dream of Dan’s since before I met him. Fulfilling that dream together was special and Dan was so excited that when we got back to the hostel at midnight his continuous chatter about the stars prevented me from sleeping. I still catch him days later looking back at photos he took of the night sky an expression of awe glued to his face.