離開Titikaka，我們從玻利維亞來(lái)到智利北部小鎮(zhèn)San Pedro de Atacama。這是一座深藏在Atacama沙漠中、有11000年歷史的智利北部小鎮(zhèn)。

一路上我們必須穿越無(wú)邊的沙漠。這片沙漠曾經(jīng)是一片汪洋，而現(xiàn)在則是世界上最干燥的沙漠。海洋干了，可它在地球上留下了她的淚痕——海鹽結(jié)晶體。遍地的海鹽結(jié)晶體使這里形成了獨(dú)特的地貌。

大家在途中的月亮谷稍作休息，打算在日落前把晚餐解決掉。在山谷里沒(méi)有飯店，只能找個(gè)避風(fēng)的地方生火做飯。在一個(gè)荒廢了的鹽礦，導(dǎo)游拿出事前準(zhǔn)備的便攜式爐子，就成了一個(gè)臨時(shí)廚房。極端天氣下，圍巾甚至擦碗布都會(huì)被導(dǎo)游用來(lái)為“廚房”擋風(fēng)遮陽(yáng)。

大家一邊吃晚餐，一邊環(huán)顧四周，這里曾是一座鹽礦，有很多用鹽磚搭起來(lái)的隔間，不知道當(dāng)時(shí)是做什么用的，沒(méi)有記載，沒(méi)有人述說(shuō)，我們也無(wú)從得知。望向遠(yuǎn)方，一輪紅日正躺在沙漠邊緣。

從山上下來(lái)，天黑得很快。車開了大概20多公里，一座燈火通明、人聲鼎沸的小村落突然出現(xiàn)在眼前，我們終于到了San Pedro de Atacama。剛下車，大家就被這里的建筑吸引了，整個(gè)村落的街道是呈網(wǎng)狀分布的，每座房子和圍墻都是泥土堆砌起來(lái)的，一家挨一家的酒吧和餐館風(fēng)格各異，酒吧里傳出的音樂(lè)有非洲鼓，有本土舞曲。我們開車艱難地在小巷子里面穿過(guò)，看見(jiàn)的每個(gè)人都各得其所，在這個(gè)村落里面扮演著自己的角色。這里真是一片自由的樂(lè)土，歌舞，藝術(shù)，美酒，人們?cè)趶V袤的沙漠中心能找到自己所需的一切。在開懷暢飲中，我們度過(guò)了完美的一夜。

第二天，逍遙一夜的我們?nèi)チ穗x此不遠(yuǎn)的間歇泉Geiseres del Tatio。Geiseres del Tatio位于海拔4300多米的智利和玻利維亞的邊境附近。由于高海拔和處于沙漠中，即使在夏天，這里的早晨氣溫也只有零下2到零下5攝氏度之間，穿上防寒夏春裝還是覺(jué)得冷。

到達(dá)間歇泉，由于此地海拔有4300多米，導(dǎo)游千叮嚀萬(wàn)囑咐，千萬(wàn)不能太激動(dòng)，否則容易有高原反應(yīng)。導(dǎo)游的鼻子靈敏到可以聞出下一個(gè)噴發(fā)的會(huì)是哪個(gè)泉眼，讓大家驚嘆不已。他讓大家在一個(gè)泉眼旁邊等著，果然沒(méi)過(guò)一分鐘，這里就開始噴發(fā)。

導(dǎo)游用地?zé)峤o我們準(zhǔn)備早餐，把準(zhǔn)備好的可可奶放在泉口，幾分鐘之后，就可以喝到熱可可了。在間歇泉旁邊，喝著熱可可，啃著智利大饅頭，吃剩下的饅頭被用來(lái)喂食周圍的鳥。后來(lái)大家還到印第安人所在的村落吃了駱駝肉。另外大家還在戶外氣溫在零攝氏度以下的情況，坐在40度的溫泉里體驗(yàn)了冰火兩重天。

Chile — From South to North

After Titikaka， we arrived at a northern town of Chile called San Pedro De Atacama， a town that has been hidden in the depth of the Atacama desert for over 11，000 years.

We had to cross the boundless desert to get to this village. This driest place on earth used to be a part of the ocean. Even to this date， we could see traces of the ocean in the sea salt crystallizations unique to this desert.

We took a short break in the Moon Valley to prepare dinner before sunset. There was no restaurant， so we had to find a place with no wind to build fire and cook meal. In a deserted salt mine， our tour guide produced a portable stove to be our interim kitchen. Under extreme weather conditions， our scarf or even our dish cloth could be used as a shield for our kitchen.

We had the opportunity to observe our surroundings as we eat. In the deserted mine are rooms separated by salt bricks， the usage of which remains unknown as there is no record or tales. At the distant horizon， a red sun was lying on the edge of the desert.

Darkness fell faster than we had anticipated. After 20 some kilometers， a bustling and illuminated village was in sight. It is San Pedro de Atacama. As we drew close， we were instantly attracted by its architecture. The rows of buildings are all constructed with mud. Neighboring pubs and restaurants each offers its own flavor. As we made our way through the alley amid African drums and local dances， we could see the villagers enjoy their lives in their own ways. It is a free land， offering wine， dance， art and everything else you would need in the heart of a desert. We had a perfect night there with glasses after glasses of wine.

The next morning， we headed to the nearby geothermal field， Geiseres del Tatio. At an altitude of 4，300 meters and at the border of Chile and Bolivia， Geiseres del Tatio is pretty cold in the morning， ranging from minus 5 to minus 2 degree celsius in summer. Even with a thick spring cloth on， I could still feel the chill.

Our tour guide warned us many times that we should not get too excited if we don’t want to experience acute mountain sickness. And he seemed to have a predictive nose that could smell the next erupting spring. He asked us to wait by a spring， and sure enough， it erupted within a minute.

He improvised breakfast with the geothermal as well. Placing the cocoa milk in the spring， and within minutes， it is warm enough to be consumed. We sat by the spring， drunk hot cocoa， and chewed Chile bread， leaving crumbs for the birds. Afterwards， we went to a local Indian village to try camel meat and bathed in a 40 degree celsius hot spring while the outside temperature is below zero.

Tips

除了秘魯、玻利維亞和智利，秘魯北部的厄瓜多爾也充滿了奇幻的景象，有壯觀的火山大道和充滿陸地巨龜?shù)凝攳u，還有赤道測(cè)量基準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)上的赤道碑。

Apart from Peru， Bolivia， and Chile， Ecuador is also full of fantastic sights—the spectacular avenue of volcanos， the island full of land turtles， and the equator monument.