26 July 2008

The Atacama Desert Expedition Begins

Originally drafted 17 July 2008

Preparing to load vechicles prior to departure to San Pedro. Credit: Pete Polsgrove.

The morning of 17 July – we went to the grocery store. This was a massive undertaking. Each of us had our own cart. We purchased food jointly and individually. The individual purchases were comfort foods. We should now have enough food to get us through the next two weeks.

Our team arrived in San Pedro in two stages. Knutt, Dan and John left earlier and arrived in SP early in the evening. Christina, Pete and myself departed around 1730 hr. I had to meet with Guillermo to discuss some logistics and process research permits, which was why we did not leave together. Our drive from Antofagasta to San Pedro was uneventful. Driving across a desolate desert at night in South America – one can hope for nothing less. My group arrived around 2230hr. We weren’t overly beat, but we were definitely glad to be in San Pedro.

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