Yesterday night we went back by the bike rental place and picked some up again so we could get an early start today. Our plan was to get to the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) in time for sunrise at 7:09am. This meant we had to get on the road by 5:30am in order to make it the 7 miles to our sunrise destination. We got started just in time (Alejandro’s watch is a couple minutes fast!).
We weren’t aware there was a HUGE hill right before our spot so that slowed us down some… Nothing like a good work-out before sunrise though! We also weren’t aware that it was a fairly long uphill hike to the spot, all through fine sand (the sunrise spot was called Duna Mayor, or Major (Sand) Dune).
But we made it with time to spare!
And then these were the landscapes we encountered once there was enough sunlight to see them. You guys pick. More like the moon or more like mars?
Don’t you guys feel safe that we were riding around with those vests?
After this, it was back to the bike to view the rest of the valley. Here are some highlights.
Once we got to the end (the trail was an out and back) we made it to an abandoned salt mine. As the salt around us heated up with the sun, it made eerie hollow-like noises (Alejandro said it sounded like a xylophone, Cassie thinks it’s more similar to water drops inside a cave) all around us. We took a recording but can’t put it up here… Sorry!
On our ride back out of the valley, we stopped at a salt cavern which we had missed in our rush to get to the Dune for sunrise. This was a great way to end the excursion.
After this, we were of course again exhausted, and following the pattern from yesterday, stopped at the local market again to get some local fruits. We ate these cute little pears called “Peras de Pascua” which translates to Easter Pears. They tasted very much like pears. Also had fresh, and toasted, Chañar, which are everywhere in this region. The pulp was really sweet, and the most common usage is to stew them for a while, and it makes a sauce which can be substituted in for molasses.
Good night! Early morning again planned for tomorrow…
Travel Fun With Cassie and Alejandro 
I’m voting moon. Mars is supposed to be red.
Great blog! Have a wonderful tomorrow!
Dad
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I agree with John I think you went to the moon.
How marvelous to see in person all those wonderful views. Thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Love you very much.
Lolis
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Moon or Mars? I don’t know, but it is definitely someplace that I don’t want to survive in. It looks so desolate! Did you see any animals or life of any kind there? And yes, I’m so happy you wore the vests when you were riding before sunrise!!
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Mostly just some birds, but not much lived there!
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