400 Years of the Telescope

This whirlwind of a day took us from developing city to developing city in Chile. We said our goodbyes to Antofogasta after our one night stay on the beach before boarding our 40 minute flight east to Calama. Calama is near the Bolivian border and in the middle of the Atacama Desert; the most dry and dead place on earth. No wonder they make so many 4 wheel drive car commercials and test the Mars Rover there – there’s barely any living organisms on the two hour drive through the Calama desert towards San Pedro De Atacama. Our bright red rental truck was just large enough to pack the crew and the equipment. We kept an eye on the luggage placed on the top of the pile in the back of the truck just in case we hit any potholes or rocks on the way to San Pedro de Atacama. But luckily, the crew and the luggage didn’t hit any obstacles on the road and everyone got to San Pedro safe and sound.

Once in the city, we roamed the city looking for our hotel that ended up being down a series of winding streets, past the markets and restaurants of the major metropolitan part of the city. We dropped off our gear and made sure everything was put on a charger to get ready for the next day’s interview with Dr. Catherine Cesarsky before we entered the city to get our first taste (literally and figuratively) of San Pedro.

We spend a good part of an hour scouting out all of the food establishments, looking for something that would calm all of our grumbling stomachs. We finally settled on a restaurant whose name we could not pronounce which included an open, but covered deck to eat on and an outdoor patio with trees and umbrella-covered tables. We all agreed that this was a very delicious meal.

After lunch, we all got out our pesos and prepared to shop. We entered the city’s market area and perused the booths lined with small gifts and knick-knacks for our family and friends. We had fun trying on hats and gloves and marveling at the variety of color on the garments.

We got one more quick snack before heading back to the hotel where we all re-gathered ourselves and prepared for a late dinner. We planned to meet up around 8pm, giving us all some time to take a siesta, check e-mails and pack our gear for morning before dinner and bed. Around 7pm, the phone in Anita Berkow and Krista Shelby’s room rang, alerting them that Dr. Cesarsky and Dr. William Garnier had just arrived and that they were waiting for them at the front desk of the hotel. After a quick discussion of the following morning’s “gameplan”, the crew and Dr. Cesarsky had a wonderful dinner back in the city where they got a chance to get to know each other on more than just a professional-to-professional level. We shared stories and laughs and a wonderful evening was had all around – a magnificent end to a very long day.