A day of nothing very much -
The little oasis of San Pedro de Atacama has under 5,000 inhabitants but is somewhat overrun with backpackers and has a hippy vibe about it. Maybe the drugs are cheap and freely available.
Our hotel though, is an oasis in itself and a perfect place for a rest day to allow the exhausted crews to recuperate.
The village is a collection of dusty streets and adobe buildings, so laid back it is practically horizontal surrounded by snow capped volcanoes. It is, as I said earlier, the driest place on earth but, one month ago, when Peru was ravaged by devastating floods, they received 2 inches of rain in one and a half hours. A once in a life time event.
It is hard to believe that this area has supported an indigenous population for so long, surrounded as it is by nothing, really nothing, not a blade of grass or sign of life for hundreds of kms.
Some of the oldest mummies in the world have been found here. It is a place of extremes in all things! The earliest date back to 7020 BC. By comparison, Egyptian mummies are around 3,000 years old.
Some mummification is natural in the extreme aridity, others are the result of a rather extraordinary process. All walks of life and ages were treated the same. I.e.:
1. Chop limbs and head off.
2. Remove soft tissues and prop bones up with sticks.
3. Dry skin, sometimes using sea lion skin to supplement.
4. Reassemble the body using organic matter and animal hair to stuff.
5. Make a clay mask and paint black.
6. Put a wig of natural hair on the head.
7. Paint the rest of the body in red ochre.
8. Wrap with reeds and dry.
Phew! What a palaver!
Archeologists are able to tell that their diet was 90% seafood.
There is a great little museum in the village full of fabulous artefacts. The aridity is excellent for preservation and even textiles are in good order.
A lovely, easy day. All crews arrived yesterday in the usual knackered state but by tomorrow, everyone will be totally chilled and ready for the next stage. We climb another 1,000metres, taking us to just over 4,000 metres and enter Argentina. Land of meat, more meat and wineries.
Our hotel though, is an oasis in itself and a perfect place for a rest day to allow the exhausted crews to recuperate.
The village is a collection of dusty streets and adobe buildings, so laid back it is practically horizontal surrounded by snow capped volcanoes. It is, as I said earlier, the driest place on earth but, one month ago, when Peru was ravaged by devastating floods, they received 2 inches of rain in one and a half hours. A once in a life time event.
It is hard to believe that this area has supported an indigenous population for so long, surrounded as it is by nothing, really nothing, not a blade of grass or sign of life for hundreds of kms.
Some of the oldest mummies in the world have been found here. It is a place of extremes in all things! The earliest date back to 7020 BC. By comparison, Egyptian mummies are around 3,000 years old.
Some mummification is natural in the extreme aridity, others are the result of a rather extraordinary process. All walks of life and ages were treated the same. I.e.:
1. Chop limbs and head off.
2. Remove soft tissues and prop bones up with sticks.
3. Dry skin, sometimes using sea lion skin to supplement.
4. Reassemble the body using organic matter and animal hair to stuff.
5. Make a clay mask and paint black.
6. Put a wig of natural hair on the head.
7. Paint the rest of the body in red ochre.
8. Wrap with reeds and dry.
Phew! What a palaver!
Archeologists are able to tell that their diet was 90% seafood.
There is a great little museum in the village full of fabulous artefacts. The aridity is excellent for preservation and even textiles are in good order.
A lovely, easy day. All crews arrived yesterday in the usual knackered state but by tomorrow, everyone will be totally chilled and ready for the next stage. We climb another 1,000metres, taking us to just over 4,000 metres and enter Argentina. Land of meat, more meat and wineries.
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