We are currently near the Andes mtns in Chile. Going north in our Jeep. We started in the south of Chile ... weather was bitterly cold with strong winds at the start of September. Fire starting was very difficult. After one month, where we depend on campfires for heat and food, we are getting better at this art. Its a tough learning experience.

We reached the Desert of Atacama three days ago, now in early October. The low altitude desert looks like the planet Mars. No jokes!! I woke up one morning and looked at the landscape ... and I thought ... we're not on Earth any more. This place looks EXACTLY like the photos of Mars that were taken by the Mars rovers. Very cool !!

So if you ever want to see Mars ... go to the Desert of Atacama in Chile.

Apparently NASA does test their equipment and rovers here. I think thats a very smart idea. I hope they continue this type of work ... there is still a tremendous amount of information that can be gleaned from this desert in Chile.

We are doing our best to keep the place pristine. I wish other people would sto dumping bottles and trash in the desert.

Here is one cool thing ... one of the survival techniques ACTUALLY WORKS. Here in the low desert of Atacama, altitude 2200 feet, about 30 miles from the coast, there are dense fogs at night.

I spread out a tarp on the back of the Jeep to try to keep things dry. I weighted the tarp with rocks. I was amazed to discover the next morning ... pools of water at the locations of the rocks. There is so much condensation, you get real pools of water. I think that if you had about 5 tarps, each anput 20 foot square, it would be enough water for one person for one day.

First time ... i have seen this idea work under real conditions!!

WHY does the technique work here? The Atacama is an enormous desert, extremely dry. In many places there are no plants at all. Only gravel, sand and rocks. The convection of hot air is very strong. By noon, convection winds can be very strong ... enough to destroy a tarp because it flaps violently. By evening, the einds die fown. A heavy marine layer moves in, for regions of the desert within 30 miles of the coast. The fog is so heavy that it blots out all light, and there is much condensation. This condensation from the rain-fog produces the pools of water on tarps, if you spread them out to collect water.

Wow, sounds like an amazing trip! Thanks for the reports. I'll probably never get down to South America myself so it's cool to read about it.

This is interesting Pete. Keep posting. BTW, how did you solve the fire problem?

Great stuff!

Very cool, Pete! Are you blogging/photojournaling/youtubing your trip anywhere? I've love to hear more!

This is it! Not blogging anywhere else. wish i could share photos ... we have fantastic photos of the lakes and volcanoes of the Andes.

This trip has 2 purposes ...

1. We are looking for a permanent home somewhere in the Andes. This is harder than it sounds .. the governments of countries in S. America have a variety of policies, some friendly, bot others a real nuisance. Corruption is rampant in S. America.

2. We are looking for new medicines from plants, trees and fungi. We will be sending extracts to the Cancer Moonshot program that was started by VP Biden. We are focusing on unusual plants that have not been investigated before, and special plants used by the Indians. The Indians have some plant medicines that they share, but there are other plants that they do not reveal.

Plenty of problems on the road. One thing that has surprised me ... all of the zippers on our equipment have failed. The zipper on my fleece jacket stopped working ... a nuisance. The zipper on the back of the jeep (I have a Jeep with a soft top) also stopped working completely, and cannot be rescued with WD-40. When these items get a lot of hard use, the zippers just arent tough enough to survive. I wont buy any more expedition gear with zippers.

But there is one exception. I have an expedition bag made by North Face
That bag has taken a real beating and it keeps on trucking. And the zippers are all working. it is possible to build good gear ... people just have to be serious ... thanks North Face. These bags are red in color, with black straps. I think mine cost $100.

And no ... we dont receive $$ from North Face. The comments are honest evaluations :-)

What is the zipper brand that is on your North Face bag? (Chances are it is YKK, a fairly common zipper used by lots of companies) and what size? That is probably significant as well....

I doubt that there is any fastener that is absolutely fool proof. I have even had problems with hook and loop systems which are reasonably dependable...