Horseback Riding Through Valley de la Muerte

What an adventure

A few weeks before our trip, Brian and I talked about going horseback riding through the desert. We had read some blogs and had heard that it was a different way of exploring San Pedro de Atacama. We even went as far as contacting a guide, thinking that it would be as easy to book as Space. At some point in the conversation, our guide essentially dropped the ball, and we decided to play it by ear. On our first day in San Pedro de Atacama, we went on a booking spree and managed to snag a three-hour tour through Valle de la Muerte at a much cheaper price. As I may have said before, if there is one lesson we learned from traveling up north, it is that you gotta book when you get there!

Tomato with tuna 

Pork with some taters 

At the recommendation of our tour guide from the salt flats and the lagoons, we ate at a local eatery where the prices were probably 75% lower than in town. We then stopped by the hostel to put on some sun screen, grabbed some liquids, and headed to town where we met with a guy who drove us to a ranch (if you ever want to find this guy, he is usually sitting by the curb and playing the guitar - true story!). There we met our guide whose name was the stereotypical Spanish Pedro.

Pedro barely spoke English, but we could communicate enough with him. He was most helpful and got both Brian and me on our horses, and soon we were on our way to the valley. We road through part of town and up some hills to get to the country roads that led to the valley. We even passed some curious tourists who must have wanted in on the horseback riding experience. Little did they know that we were beginners. I personally was afraid of being bucked off, which actually happened to me in Baguio when I was 12 years old!

 
Surprisingly, the ride to the valley passed without incident, and we started to see some pretty amazing views. On occasion, my horse would slow down, and Pedro would have to prod him to move faster. As you can imagine, this action began to hurt our behinds later on in the afternoon because we had yet to learn one thing and that was how to sit on the saddle.

We began to travel farther and farther up the valley, all the while being treated to amazing views, until we came upon the top of this majestic sand dune... And proceeded to gallop down!

I survived

I remember that moment very vividly: Brian's and my horse were going slow, so Pedro had to egg them to move faster. Brian's horse was way ahead of mine and was egged on so much that it arrived at topmost part of the dune before Pedro's and my horse... And could not stop! All I could hear was "¡Para! ¡Para!" from Brian, but soon, he disappeared from view. Then it was my horse's turn to get egged on, and I began to follow suit so rapidly that, at one point, my two feet were out of the stirrups!

I managed to get one foot back in before my horse and I slipped and slid down the slope. At that moment, I feared for my life, and it was a real fear too. That was not a tiny sand dune; I can tell you that much! Sand boarders even use it for sand boarding! But we made it down and live to tell the tale. What an exhilarating experience! It is certainly up there in terms of best traveling experiences of all time!

Thankfully, our tour began to wind down, and we took an easy ride back into town. At one point, Pedro was fully tugging my horse along. Hahaha!

That's Brian behind me

We went back to the ranch and were driven back to town, tired but happy. We picked up some dinner before heading back to the hostel for a home-cooked meal.

Brian made some sandwiches for us using the hostel's kitchen. We then turned in early for a much deserved rest. That was a lot of excitement for one day. ;)