Stargazing At Arizona Desert

Anyone had any luck with the Perseids? Traditionally I see hardly any when I set out to do it - this year I even saw a few when not planned, just not when I actually expected to see them because of a later hour and less light pollution lol. Weird. 

This postcard comes from a tag with possibly the longest name in the history of tags (or not?) - Tag the latest sender from a country other than the last five posts.!. Its goal is to avoid repeated countries at the end of the tag. So I received this great desert night sky view from Michael, thank you :)

Desert Map, Morocco

After a long while a swap from Morocco - this inviting map, reminding me of good days. Great stamps too! Thank you Ouissal :)

Merzouga And Erg Chebbi, Morocco

So the next stop is not Unesco, but still as impressive as it can be..! Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco, about 50 kilometers from the Algerian border. Its a part of the itineraries of many tourists cos of its proximity to Erg Chebbi, a large dune formed by wind-blown sand - it can reach a height of up to 150 meters and altogether spans an area of 22 kilometers from north to south and up to 5-10 kilometers from east to west. We were taken into the desert on camels and climbed the dune - man, I was so out of shape, trying to catch up with everyone but losing my breath, sooo embarassing..! :/

Its one of those experiences when you don't mind how touristy it is and that you have to take the tour AND I was so lucky to be in the group of only eight (and the seven others being such cool people). Whats more, what I didnt find in Marrakech I found in Merzouga: a friendly PO person who understood my need for different stamps! Alas I had already sent most of the postcards to others by that point (as I dont like leaving it for the last day) but used them on future stops for my humble self - and the one here is so amazing, my first containing actual seeds that can be planted!! Of course I dont plan to try it out, they look very fine where they are :)

(San Pedro De) Atacama, Chile

San Pedro de Atacama is a small  town at the edge of 'the driest desert in the world'. It is the major tourist hub for visiting Salar de Atacama, Valle de la Luna  and other surrounding sights.

The first people to inhabit the Atacama area arrived at the place by the year 10,000 B.C., at a time when the area had large lakes and mighty rivers on account of the end of the glacial era. The Atacama culture reaches its classical phase during the first seven centuries of the Christian era. The Hispanic urban pattern and architecture, combining the Spanish contribution and native techniques, have also survived. All this and much more is why the place is on the Unesco WHS tentative list.

                         

We walked into the desert as far as we could in one day, which didnt bring us to the most famous spots but i am still thrilled to have done it :))) Valle de la Luna is one of those places where EVERYONE goes and does the same thing. Sometimes its worth it. I wonder about this one. But how to predict?

A nice set of Antofagasta stamps, a port city just west of San Pedro on the Pacific coast. The cards took a while to arrive, i remember being worried about them...All's well that ends well :)))