Lost and Found in the Atacama Desert

Being without the facility to draw cash out is a pain, whereas not being able to do so whilst in a small town in the middle of the desert when tours and transportation need to be booked is a serious situation.  Fortunately, with my mother’s help I am able to order a new card have its details sent to me and the moment standing at the ATM with the sound of cash being counted in the machine is such a big relief.

Main Street in San Pedro de Atacama

The tours in question can all be arranged in the quant desert town called San Pedro de Atacama, which feels, and is, in the middle of nowhere. It is where one can venture out into the desert which is defined by hot springs,volcanic mountains, steaming geysers, minerals, salt lakes and great wildlife. Late night drinking is also the order of the evening which can make getting up to visit the sights a little tricky when attempting to awake for a 4am start!  I have never been to Israel and its Dead Sea but Chile has its equivalent here and it is strangely wonderful to be floating around in a lake having 30% salinity.

Trying to drown in this stuff!

The town also serves as the stepping stone for getting across the Chilean border and into Bolivia. 4x4 vehicles are loaded up with up to six people and drive across the desert over three days to arrive at a town called Uyuni, Bolivia.  The whole experience leaves a deep impression because the stunning landscape is unique to the rest of the World. Getting on with the other travelers in a tightly squeezed van can test ones tolerance! So despite being in the middle of a massive desert, one is actually rarely alone. Venturing too far off from the touring group could result in being left behind in some pretty inhospitable  and unforgiving terrain!

Flamingos grazing on some delicious algae!

Wow!

This feels like the next phase of my journey as departing Chile is to leave behind the most expensive countries in South America. I have been told that Bolivia is cheap as chips which will provide welcome relief to my spending rate!

See you in Bolivia! Peace.