Mars on Earth

by Mark Johanson

ISBN: 9781771606769

Published: 2024-10

An utterly unique travel memoir about a gay expat searching an otherworldly place for a deeper understanding of his partner and his adoptive homeland. Embark on an extraordinary odyssey through the heart of the world's driest non-polar desert--the Atacama. In Mars on Earth, intrepid journalist Mark Johanson navigates this otherworldly terrain, a sliver of camel-colored hills, windswept dunes, and desolate salt flats nestled between the Pacific's tumultuous waves and the towering Andes. Unfolding against the backdrop of Chile's 2019-2020 protests, Mark's journey begins in Santiago, unraveling a rich tapestry of human resilience and passion that fuels a nation's desire for change. As he traverses 1,200 miles of alien landscapes, Mark climbs to the Andean Altiplano's dizzying heights, explores the Pacific's kelp forests, and ventures onto a lithium-rich salt flat threatened by progress. The narrative reaches new heights as Mark delves into the heart of the Atacama, meeting captivating...