Spoiler: Everyone Lives

Sometimes it’s best not to know what you’re about to get yourself into. I was told I was running down a sand dune. I figured that would be a crazy five minutes and some dusty shoes.

Nope. Our guide from Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa in Chile’s San Pedro de Atacama Desert led us across a vast flat tabletop of land and then gestured for us to follow her. 100ft/30m DOWN.

I had visions of being swallowed straight into the sandy hill, only to be excavated thousands of years from now and added to some cautionary exhibit about how people shouldn’t be dune-running.

Turns out I that’s not how it works. Watch the video now to see what running through the Valley of Death in Chile’s Atacama Desert is really like.

Note: I was hosted by Tierra Atacama in Chile, but everything on the video is real, including my trepidation. Also note: I love love loved Tierra Atacama hotel and absolutely recommend staying there. All tours were included in the hotel rate. More on this to come.

One other note: GoPro gave me a Hero5 to try out. I love their qwikstories app, and they are not paying me to say that. It’s just the easiest editing app ever and for that, I thank them!