http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi_arid
Española's average rainfall: http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/new-mexico/espanola.htm
[Hari steps onto a soap box for the next paragraph]
People often describe New Mexico as a "desert" and use this term in a demeaning way, as if geography and ecology should be ashamed of itself, for not providing a perfectly-green trimmed grass blade to be crushed under the foot of every human step. Others apply the term desert to describe New Mexico as a synonym for ugly, but, it's all part of God's creation. There's so much beauty in New Mexico and so much plant and animal life (in undisturbed areas this excludes the bulldozed dirt lots of Albuquerque), that is a true statement of character and intelligence when someone fails to see this. It's not a flattering statement, by the way, especially if you live here and you say things like "There's nothing green in NM". Besides the fact that there are thousands of other beautiful colors available to the eye, signifying that green cannot be the only appealing color, this is a false statement. If one desires to be surrounded by green from green-grass covered ground through a wall of green vegetation to a ceiling of tall green pines, they can simply visit any mountain range in NM. Or they can wait for monsoon season when the abundant native grasses are green. But if they prefer the monotony of trimmed green grass they should rather camp out on one of the overly abundant NM golf courses. However, those of us who care about water resources and would like to see this beautiful state still be inhabitable by humans in the future, we'd prefer that the the former leave. To put it more bluntly: if you insist on wasting my descendants water so you can have a green yard now, if you insist on polluting the air by burning gas in your mower, and if you insist on polluting the scarce water you leave behind with your chemical fertilizers, and weed killers, I insist that you move somewhere where green grass grows where you want it to grow, stays green for as long as you want it to stay green, dominates over other plants (weeds) and contols its length naturally, without wasting resources, and without polluting. Or you can stay and learn to live in harmony with the environment and appreciate NM for what it is rather than what you think it should be based on a lifetime of "green grass propaganda".
[Hari steps off the soap box.]
I took this picture in the Santiago airport before we flew to Calama, you'll only see this display if you take a national flight. I appreciate unique artwork like this. Pressumably, this tower was constructed from unclaimed luggage.
These two pictures were taken just before we landed in Calama.
The Calama airport is located outside of the city, these pictures were taken from a taxi as we went into town. I thought it was funny to see this suburban sprawl of houses made with lumber. I was also reminded of "middle eastern" images I've seen on tv, and I wondered if there is any other place like this on the planet. Incidentally, this photo makes it appear that we were on a dirt road. We were not, however, that comes later in the journey.
This is the center square in Calama.
This fountain didn't seem to be running. Judging by the surroundings, I think this was probably a wise decision.
The church in the plaza in Calama.
Another shot of the plaza.
This pub was across the street from the bus station. We thought is was funny.
This was the first picture I took from the bus. We were less than a mile out of Calama. It was amazing to see land with absolutely no vegetation! (My bus window wasn't as clean as the rest so it had an affect on the following few pictures.)
The following two pics were taken from the hill as we descended into San Pedro, the green cluster in the middle is the town.
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