We finally made it across the just reopened border to Chile in a minibus full of swearing, smoking real gap yearers! We were delayed at the border leaving Bolivia because the immigration staff had literally just gone off for a stroll! The driver also ran out of fuel and we had a puncture to contend with as well. San Pedro was an interesting although somewhat unreal place, full of original adobe buildings which are now completely geared towards tourists. But a great base for exploring.
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| Waiting outside our hotel for Nic on his birthday! |
We signed up a few organised tours, the first being stargazing out in the desert with an excellent guide, who said that they have 360 clear nights in a year. The largest telescope cluster in the world was visible on the horizon.
Next, the old geysers went to see El Tatio, the largest geyser field in the Southern hemisphere, entailing a 4 am start and, at 4320 metres, it was absolutely freezing! We were given breakfast eggs boiled in the hot springs but peeling them was difficult through gloves....
The tour continued by road to a 'local' village where we were fed llama brochettes and goat's cheese empanadas!
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| Long but not winding road |
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| Shy viscacha |
Our third trip took in the Valleys of the Dead and of the Moon. The latter was particularly spectacular at sunset and Nic could not stop taking photos!
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| Crawling through the caves |
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| Another semi-dormant volcano! |
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