Walking the Silent Salt Flats of the Atacama Desert
Located in northern Chile, the world's driest desert may not sound appealing. But what would you do if you had the chance to head to the Atacama Desert, a place of dried-out minerals with no end in sight? Would you embark on the journey of a lifetime, where you finally get the chance to reset and take a step back from the part of your life you have lived so far?
Finding Focus in the Most Isolated Landscapes on Earth
Atacama is not just another desert. Upon arrival, you feel like you have stepped onto Mars, as evidenced by places like Yungay, which have not recorded significant rainfall in human history. Another similarity to Mars is that NASA uses this remote part of Chile to test its rovers.
Stretching across thousands of square kilometers of white salares, the Atacama offers a vast horizon with no end in sight. In the absolute silence between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, each of us has the opportunity to experience transformation and perhaps change a part of ourselves. An experience not to be missed.
Why Valle de la Luna Feels Like Another Dimension
At the beginning, I mentioned that the Atacama feels like Mars. This is no exaggeration, because this place seems to have accidentally ended up on Earth. Valle de la Luna, with its dunes, traces of what was once a lake, and rocks washed with salt, is a perfect example. As the sun sets, the dunes shift into deep shades of purple and ochre. Standing in a place that feels so unreal at times can reduce work stress and help you view life's decisions through an entirely new lens.
Silence and Starlight as the Ultimate Digital Detox
To truly shift your perspective, you have to be fully present in the landscape. Take a breath, take a moment and look up at the sky, the stars and the Milky Way. You are standing under one of the clearest skies on Earth, right where the ALMA observatory is located. Without signals or distractions, standing in silence under the stars provides a unique opportunity for a digital detox.
You need to come back to reality sometime, and that's okay. But what no one can take away from you is the starry sky and the silence. The memories you bring back from Chile will always remind you to stop for a moment and think carefully about where you are going and whether you want to keep going down the same path.