We began five days of exploring the high altitude Atacama desert with a hot air balloon ride from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. One of the two most surprising things about our float past the Salt Mountain range was the patches of green fields cultivated by the Atacameños (aka Licanantay), who have used specialized irrigation practices to farm in the high desert for more than 11,000 years. The other surprising sight was the seasonal river, with a strong water flow during our “rainy season” visit.
