Situated in one of the driest deserts in the world, Valle de la Luna is just one possible day trip you can take when visiting the area of San Pedro de Atacama. With a full moon on display and excited to stargaze in a few days I thought I'd stick with the theme and opt for a visit to the one place on earth most like the surface of the moon (unfortunately gravity still holds you to the sand, I know, bummer.)
After a bumpy ride out of town we started to be overshadowed by crazy rock formations that had been cut out of the sand by wind and rain. We climbed a dune and watched the sand boarders got their adrenalin kicks as they raced to the bottom. The snow capped mountains in the far distance, the pink blue sky and the orange rock formations in the foreground made me feel peaceful.
Back in the van and we hurtled off to duck and dive through salt tunnels, the sun sparkling off the white sand making it look like a frosted desert. Surreal.
As I clambered up the rocky ascent we reached the top of a rocky peak to watch the sunset over the desert and felt the heat quickly fall away from us. The whole day I imagined myself on another planet, in another world, far away from anything I knew from home. Of course as with any tourist attraction the hoards of other foreigners eager to feel like they'd been to the moon and back reminded me that I was closer to home that I wanted to imagine but to hell with the lot of them, the scenery was out of this world!

During my time in the lazy desert town of San Pedro de Atacama we saw a full moon, which bought with it varying options for wild nights out. Chile has strict laws in regards to drinking and a lot of their partying is done in private. Our hostel had a great social area where a campfire burned nightly and we soon heard rumours of an upcoming 'secret rave' that everyone in the hostel was eager to see. After buying some cheap Chilean wine and pumping some warm tunes we soon found ourselves on the dusty roads of town waiting to be picked up by random trucks and taken to the party. Our new Chilean friend ushered us to a doorway where we purchased a fine bottle of Chilean pisco and as the first truck pulled up a mad rush of people handed their cash to the driver and jumped in the back. We were assured cars would run all night so as the next one pulled up there was a mad rush to get in. I made it, with a group of others I knew from the hostel and drove off to see Gemma waiting for the next van with our bottle of pisco. She'll follow us everyone assured me.
We drove further and further out into the barren desert and I wonders where this party might be until we finally pulled up to a wire fence. We paid to get through and walked towards the fire puts and metal shack fitted with sound system.
I danced to a strange mix of salsa, reggaeton, techno and Sean Paul, lost friends, made new ones and found the old ones again. Ultimately it all came to an end when I went for a pee in what was ultimately a field of cacti and got a thorn threw my shoe. One of the new friends helped me haggle down the price of a taxi and we went back to town together.
Gemma never made it, the police had apparently got wind of what was happening and no more cars showed up, she forgave me though!

SURVIVAL TIP: Take a risk but stay safe! Ultimately I went to this party with people I knew and trusted but it was a far way out in the middle of nowhere and staying with Gemma would have been a lot safer. Saying that, if I hadn't of taken a risk and jumped in that van, I may never have had the experience in the first place!

During my stay in San Pedro de Atacama the full moon had given lots of great opportunities to party but threatened to take away from me something I had been eagerly looking forward to: stargazing in the desert. The driest place in the world, the Aacama Desert in Chile is one of the best places to view the stars due to the high altitude and lack of clouds and radio and light pollution.
I stayed an extra night and in close contact with a lovely lady from spaceobs.com and to my lucky surprise a day before I was due to leave got an email saying the observatory was open for business again. Granted the view wouldn't be brilliant due o the still bulging glare of the moon but I didn't care.
Huddled in a circle in the middle of the Aacama desert there was a small window of time between the sun going down an the moon coming up. Wrapped in blankets we were talked through some of the main stars, the constellations, how to find North an how and why our ancestors had planned their lives and belief systems around the stars. Fascinating.
Then we turned to the telescopes, huge beasts made for looking at the stars up close, through which I saw, to name a few, 'The Jewellry Box', a group of stars do named due to their differing colours of reds, blues and greens, the rings of Saturn and the craters of the moon which was utterly mesmerising. We shuffled about from telescope to telescope before congregating in the information hut for hot chocolates.
Many of the other stargazers asked intellectual questions and probed our guide on our he got into the business he was in and I felt a little stupid and kept quiet but seeing the milky white craters of the moon and feeling like a tiny creature staring up at the dark abyss of life out in space was worth the wait!

I concur that like the earlier mentioned 'Terramoda' this is not a meaty treat, but it is nonetheless a street snack and deserves a mention. Nuts4Nuts stalls clutter the streets of Santiago selling honey roasted nuts of varying types and cold beverages. There are even rip off Nuts 'for' Nuts stalls or similar, I mention this so that you can see how much the Chileans love their nuts. However this was not always the case. The owner tried to sell his nuts on the Chilean streets but few sales he picked up his stall and set off for America where his business soon kicked off. The Chileans begged him to return, which of course he did and now he's somewhat of a local hero. Rumour has it that he still walks the streets of Santiago buying sweet nuts from his franchise owners, keep a look out! Oh, and the nuts are pretty good too!

Completo's are cheap hotdogs and the best stalls are gathered outside the university in Bella Vista waiting to fill the bellies of hungry Chilean students. Beware, if it's meat you're looking for here you will be disappointed. Every completo I saw and ate was a small, pink, sorry affair but do not fear, the joy of the completo is in the toppings. Load this bad boy up with as much as you can from guacamole, mayo with sweet corn/mushrooms/garlic, hot sauce, salsa and much much more, get yourself a spoon and dig in. What's more the vegetarians can ditch the cheap meat and enjoy practically the same meal!

SURVIVAL TIP: I too was disappointed by the lack of meat but you can snack on these cheap treats all day and never need lunch!

Santiago is famous for many delicacies, one of which is the mighty Chorilan. A mountain of chips generously topped with shredded beef, fried onions and scrambled eggs, my friend and I were satisfied after sharing this plate (it was huge!) The meat was a little tough so it might be worth going slightly upmarket on this dish or at least getting a restaurant recommendation from your hostel or fellow traveller. You can find it everywhere so you'll be spoilt for choice. Against the advice of a 'Free Walking Tour' Tour Guide (highly recommended) we washed this down with a 'Terramoda' another Santiago institution.

The 'Terramoda' or aptly named 'Earthquake' is a pint glass half filled with cheap wine and finished to the top with pisco (a grape brandy), fernet (another strong local liquor made from herbs and spices) and a large dollop of pineapple ice-cream. Sounds disgusting, went down surprisingly well. The pineapple ice-cream cleverly masks the otherwise foul concoction and you may or may not stand up to feel the ground shaking beneath you!

SURVIVAL TIP: It is not advised to consume these delicacies together, do so with caution! Furthermore I experienced 2 short earthquakes during my 4 days in Santiago so after consuming the above mentioned beverage double check whether you need to run for cover or just to the bathroom!