Saturday, August 6, 2011

El pueblito de San Pedro de Atacama pt. 1

August 1st-August 5th

When we finally made it to San Pedro at 1am on Monday, August 1st, we went right to bed. On Tuesday we woke up to glorious sun. We spent the day relaxing in the open courtyard of the hostel and wandering the dusty little streets of San Pedro. I kept repeating how nice it was to get away from the cities, though the tiny town was crawling with tourists. We booked some tours for the following days, bought our food (and wine) for our stay, and stepped inside the Padre Le Paige Museum. It's worked out well that I can ask for two student tickets and get the discounted price for Ashley and I with my Universidad Austral id card. 

In the hostel

Hostel coutyard


Hoping a slight tan may hide the bruising..no such luck


The museum was founded by the jesuit priest Le Paige to display the local Atacameñan culture. Much of their history can be studied and recorded through artifacts that were preserved due to the dry climate. Mummies were part of the exhibit until a few years ago when they were respectfully removed at the request of Atacameñan people. The museum still contains, in the recordings of Le Paige: 
  • Paleolithic places (of carved stone) also denominated "Precerámicos" in which 3 ages of time can be distinguished.
  • "Hábitat", towns, Pukarás, spaces in which vestiges of human establishments are located. (Classified from the paleolithic to the arrival of the Spanish conquerors).
  • Neolithic material and land potter. Many of the objects are considered unique by the nature of the elaboration and for the materials used in them







 The next post will be about our tour of the Valle de La Luna on the 3rd.

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