穿越只有南北方向的國家

離開Titikaka，我們從玻利維亞來到智利北部小鎮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。

一路上我們必須穿越無邊的沙漠。這片沙漠曾經是一片汪洋，而現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——海鹽結晶體。遍地的海鹽結晶體使這里形成了獨特的地貌。

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。在山谷里沒有飯店，只能找個避風的地方生火做飯。在一個荒廢了的鹽礦，導游拿出事前準備的便攜式爐子，就成了一個臨時廚房。極端天氣下，圍巾甚至擦碗布都會被導游用來為“廚房”擋風遮陽。

大家一邊吃晚餐，一邊環顧四周，這里曾是一座鹽礦，有很多用鹽磚搭起來的隔間，不知道當時是做什么用的，沒有記載，沒有人述說，我們也無從得知。望向遠方，一輪紅日正躺在沙漠邊緣。

從山上下來，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，整個村落的街道是呈網狀分布的，每座房子和圍墻都是泥土堆砌起來的，一家挨一家的酒吧和餐館風格各異，酒吧里傳出的音樂有非洲鼓，有本土舞曲。我們開車艱難地在小巷子里面穿過，看見的每個人都各得其所，在這個村落里面扮演著自己的角色。這里真是一片自由的樂土，歌舞，藝術，美酒，人們在廣袤的沙漠中心能找到自己所需的一切。在開懷暢飲中，我們度過了完美的一夜。

第二天，逍遙一夜的我們去了離此不遠的間歇泉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得冷。

到達間歇泉，由于此地海拔有4300多米，導游千叮嚀萬囑咐，千萬不能太激動，否則容易有高原反應。導游的鼻子靈敏到可以聞出下一個噴發的會是哪個泉眼，讓大家驚嘆不已。他讓大家在一個泉眼旁邊等著，果然沒過一分鐘，這里就開始噴發。

導游用地熱給我們準備早餐，把準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喂食周圍的鳥。后來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的龜島，還有赤道測量基準點上的赤道碑。

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.