San Pedro de Atacama - Days 2 & 3

San Pedro de Atacama – Day Two (24/05/2017)

As I said our early start wasn’t quite as early as expected – our original pick up time was 5:30am but it had been changed to 6:30am for safety reasons.  It has been unseasonably cold here and there is a lot of snow and ice on some roads making them unsurpassable.  However our trip to Tatio Geysers was still going ahead which we were grateful for!

I knew there was the potential of being a bit cold but hadn’t really grasped the concept of an altitude of 4000m so I put on as many layers as I could including my new alpaca jumper.  We also had additional blankets provided for us in the minibus.  Joining Helen, Kerry and I were four New Zealanders.  The temperature certainly descended as we climbed higher and whether it was due to cold, the thinning of the air or just general tiredness I dozed off on a few occasions.  The landscape was changing from desert browns, gradually greener, then whiter of snow.  At one point when I woke I was surprised to see the view completely white!

Once at our first stop we wrapped up in everything we could (I was very grateful of the blanket which I used as a scarf) and were shown around the geyser field.  At 4300m this is the highest geothermal field in the world.   There are over 80 active geysers making it the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere (a fact somewhat disputed by the Kiwis in the group!) and the third largest in the world.   There are no dramatic spurts of water but the steam rising from the ground is somewhat eerie.  We made a couple of stops to look at various rock formations created by the boiling water and also heard stories of accidents due to tourists trying to get the best photos and falling in (someone recently died from 90% burns).  The different colours in the rocks were rather fascinating.  It was also interesting to see the activity cycle between the different geysers.  Very difficult to get photos at just the right time though, especially with frozen hands!

Due to the early start breakfast was included in the trip which we had in view of the geysers.  Breakfast al fresco at 4300m is a chilly affair and our guide and driver did a great job (I really wish I’d taken a photo!). Copious amounts of toast were provided with butter (rather solid), cheese, ham and dulce de leche.  We had been out for a good few hours by now and I’m not normally one to do anything until I’ve eaten, so with that and the cold I was famished and ate as if I hadn’t been fed for days.  Coffee and hot chocolate were also brewed, best drunk in a mixture of the two.  It felt rather insane to be stood outside the van in the sub-zero temparatures and winds!

On the way back down we stopped a few times to observe the birds and animals native to this part of the world.  I managed to catch a photo of a vicuna (an elegant type of llama) that crossed the road in front of us along with various coots and ducks on a small patch of frozen water (sorry I can’t remember exactly what for the bird fans!). We also stopped at Macucha, a very tiny village which is largely empty apart from tourists for most of the year.  Here I was able to try some llama that had been very nicely barbecued.  Our final stop was a canyon which is particularly green and where there is evidence of human habitation from thousands of years ago.

Our half day tour over and back at the hotel at midday I updated the diary and then went for a venture.  I bought a lovely ice cream from a local shop and walked to the square to try to pick up wifi but it doesn’t seem to have worked at all while I’ve been here.  I then remembered there was a football match on - the Europa League final with my team Manchester Utd playing Ajax of the Netherlands.  Given the events in Manchester over the last few days I particularly felt that I’d like to watch it so I found a table in the only bar in town, grabbed a litre of beer and settled in.  It’s a great little place playing rock music and it was full of English speakers.  Man Utd came out 2-0 winners in a win that felt it was a great tribute to the great city.

Two pints of beer on a relatively empty stomach at high altitude made me rather woozy so I grabbed and empanada at a local store (and rather impressed myself with my Spanish.  Maybe I should just get drunk in these places).  I thought I’d take the opportunity at the warmest part of the day to have a shower and wash my hair.  No water in the shower hot tap.  Reception was visited, a workman called out but it couldn’t be fixed.  They offered me an alternative room but rather than move all my unpacked stuff I asked if I could just borrow the shower in the other room (which is opposite so no major problem).

I met Helen and Kerry for dinner and we opted for Las Delicias de Carmen which had been recommended to both me and Helen by others.  It was ok but not amazing, the portions are huge and we all wished we’d taken the guide’s advice and just ordered two dishes between the three of us.  This place also isn’t cheap, something that the Aussies were struggling with after weeks in Bolivia and Peru!  We didn’t have enough Pesos to cover but fortunately I had enough for mine and they could pay in US dollars.  Nowhere seems to take credit cards here!  A relatively early night reading and a good night’s sleep was in order.

San Pedro de Atacama – Day Three (25/05/2017)

Our final tour was to take us to the salt lakes and the lagoons, however the bad weather was to hit our full day excursion.  We again had a slightly later start than normal.  The 8:30am pick-up meant I could enjoy the hotel breakfast – this hotel is pretty simple but the breakfast was probably my favourite of the trip (so far!).  All pretty standard fare but the crusty bread was fresh, the coffee was excellent, the juice was freshly squeezed and the fried eggs were top quality.  All finished off with cheesecake (well if it’s on offer it would be rude not to!).

Salar de Atacama is just 10km south of San Pedro but we travelled further to Laguna Chaxa.  This was definitely the bit I was looking for most on the “desert” section of the trip – flamingoes!  We took the long path round, enjoying the view and waiting for a large group of noisy Brazilians to move on.  The vastness of the flat is very other-worldly, especially for an islander.  The salt here isn’t white but more coffee-coloured due to many other minerals that also accumulate (lithium is among the mining here).  The pools of water evaporate to leave a brine in which millions of tiny brown shrimp live.  This is what attracts the flamingoes.  It was here more than anywhere that I really wished I had a “proper” camera.  I took lots of iPhone shots, hopefully some are worth keeping.  They were fascinating to watch.  There are three breeds and the Chilean flamingoes in particular turn in tiny steps to throw up more shrimp to feed.  There was something rather balletic about them.  There were also avocets, Andean gulls and plovers which were rather friendly and gave me my best photos!

We could have stayed and watched them for ages but moved on.  We took the road towards the high altitude lagoons of Minique and Miscanti but the road was shut just after Socaire.  This was where we were to take lunch but as it wasn’t yet midday it wasn’t ready yet.  Our guide showed us around a rather uninteresting church and it was around now that Kerry floated the idea that instead of our guide trying to fill time until our scheduled return of 4pm that we would be happy to just go back to San Pedro.  He came up with a few ideas but it was rather cold to be seeing things we weren’t that bothered about.  We agreed to think about it over lunch.

While we waited for lunch they agreed we could visit a hydroponic greenhouse in the village.  It’s obviously quite difficult to grow anything in the land around here due to the harsh and ever-changing conditions so the Chilean government has invested in the project.  Having worked on farms I find this stuff quite interesting.  They have lots of lettuce in various stages of growth.  The most impressive things was how consistent the crops were!  They also have various chards, spinaches and greens, strawberries and sweet peppers and they previously had a crop of fava beans.  It’s an impressive little operation.

Lunch was really good.  Our guide had brought some coca tea which was nice enough (he promised us we wouldn’t see white elephants from drinking it!) and the restaurant provided a vegetable soup, steak, rice, quinoa and salad and a set vanilla cream to finish.  We agreed when we got back to the bus that we were happy to go straight back to San Pedro which was still some distance.  We did make one stop at the road sign declaring the Tropic of Capricorn.  Again I dozed on the way back – as intriguing as the scenery is it’s also a little monotonous in this area.

More diary writing in my room, listening to the winds and rain in the driest desert in the world after seeing Facebook reports of glorious summer in the UK.  Typical!  Then out to do final souvenir shopping (I’ve forgotten what I’ve bought for who now).  The wind had whipped up a lot of dust so I braved a shower despite the cold in the room and the wind whistling through the window in the bathroom.  It was certainly refreshing!  Everything was unpacked and repacked, just leaving the last items for Santiago at the top (I’ve tried to do this as intelligently as I can!).

For my final evening in San Pedro I was meeting up with two Marillion fans who I first met at the weekend and who were in town.  I had passed Jay on the street the day before and Matt was flying in as I packed and got ready!  I met Jay near the one “pub” but it was packed so we found an alternative restaurant.  There’s only one place which doesn’t serve food so we felt a little conspicuous sat just drinking.  The place was nice enough, we sat outside by the fire listening to some live music and catching up.  When Matt finally messaged to say he and his friend Tony were checked in we moved on to La Pica Del Indio which I chose purely because it’s highly rated on TripAdvisor.  It turned out to be a good choice!  I had steak with mushroom sauce and piles of fries but having had a bit to drink and not eaten since lunch I almost finished the lot!  Jay had been out all day and had an early start so left and Tony also left a little earlier.  Matt and I ventured for somewhere else to drink and ended up in Adobe again, sat around the fire.  They said we couldn’t drink without ordering food which was a great excuse for dessert!  I had a chocolate mousse with basil which was stunning.  We were kicked out at closing time of 1am.  Probably a good thing…