Anyone ever been to the Atacama, Chile?

[tudedude]

Thinking about going there to check out the copiapoas. Anyone ever been? Is it safe in terms of political climate and what not? Easy to get around with just English? Are there guides that specialize in the plant life? Maybe do a cactiguide group trip one day?

[vlani]

Chile is the safest country of that part of the world. From what I hear not that many people speak English on the countryside, but that should not stop you.

[CactusFanDan]

I know an English-speaker who lives in San Pedro de Atacama. I would love to visit some day. Touring the entirety of Chile would be awesome.

[DWDogwood]

I want to see that Copiapoa solaris the size of a VW Bug.
But I can barely plan a trip to Anza-Borrego or Monument Valley so I'm prolly not a good person to make plans with. : )
There are organized adventures every couple of years.
Google search Copiapoa. You may stumble upon views of the past ones and info on future events.

[tudedude]

Yeah, still thinking about doing this once life settles down a bit. I'm not an organizer but if I find some tour deal I'll let the board know.