San Pedro de Atacama

Friday 29th April

After checking into Hostal Desert, walked back into town which has a pretty central square and some quaint streets leading off it, mostly given over to tour agencies. The tour that gets top marks on TripAdvisor is the Antiplano Lagoons tour but when I asked the woman in World White Travel if it would be very similar to the scenery I had seen on our Bolivian tour she said it would and suggested a couple of others. After exploring the town, had a late lunch of salmon and spinach crepe, lemonade with ginger and a coffee in a cafe close to the centre for 9000 pesos inc. tip. Had a look in the bus station for times of buses to Calama and Antofogasta. Calama would be much more convenient but flights from there to Santiago look extortionately expensive. Looked at other possibilities to stay for the last couple of days in San Pedro but places close to the centre of town look incredibly expensive.

Evening went back into town and had salmon again and a beer at Adobe restaurant which was very busy. 

Central Square in San Pedro

Adobe Buildings in San Pedro

Tourist Agencies in Adobe Buildings in San Pedro

San Pedro Church

Licancabur Volcano overlooking San Pedro

Saturday 30th April

Typical basic breakfast juice ham cheese bread fruit salad and instant coffee.  Tried booking flight to Santiago but after several attempts both direct on the Sky Airlines site and then through Sky scanner failed miserably. According to Sky scanner I can get it for US$83 but in practice I can’t book it. Other fares are > $300.

Eventually gave up and went out. Dropped off my laundry and had a walk round the town. Found a pleasant restaurant by a stream where I had a good lunch of oxtail and vegetable soup fish with Chilean salad (tomato and onion) and a desert, which altogether came to just under 9000. There is a small a stream which I think may be an irrigation channel from the San Pedro River, which is why San Pedro was built here. The stream gets divided up into small canals to irrigate a few fields.

Sunday 1^st May

Managed to book flight from Calama to Santiago on Wednesday for $83. Then went down to the bust station to book a bus to Calama for Wednesday morning. Booked tours to Valle de Luna for this afternoon /evening  and another full day tour for tomorrow Salar Tara.Had omelette for lunch and picked up my laundry before heading back to Hostal Desert.

Later in the afternoon back in town and met up with the woman from agency who sold me the tour just before 4pm. She then walked us down the street where we amalgamated with another group and were led to the carpark where were further amalgamated onto a minibus. Although there appear to be dozens of tour companies in San Pedro think many or even most of them are just agencies. On the bus met up with Jeffrey and Chung again who had arrived in San Pedro today. Wasn't very impressed with the guide who gave all her explanations in Spanish with only a brief summary in English. First stop was in a volcanic area which she explained had been shaped by water. Despite the general aridity, rains do occur and can be very heavy. We then crawled through some caves which again she explained had been formed by water. I wasn't prepared for the caves and was quite surprised there had been no warning when I booked. In places there was no light at all and the roof was very low so we had to crawl. Fortunately I had my hat since I inevitably bumped my head against the roof a couple of times. I realise most tourists in San Pedro are young backpackers and want adventure but for someone with claustrophobia this would be a disaster. Eventually we got out into daylight again and could enjoy the view. From there we drove a short distance to a formation called the amphitheatre and later to some wind eroded rocks, the three Marias, where there were lots of areas of hard crystalline salt that looked just like ice. Finally up to a viewpoint to watch the setting sun illuminate the nearby conical Licancabur volcano.

Lots of Desert

The Amphitheatre

Sunset in the Desert

Monday 2^nd May

Picked up just after 0830 for Day tour to Salar de Tara. About 15 of us in a minibus driven by Mario who is also our guide and gives a good introduction in English although I think most of the people are Spanish speaking. With one exception, all look young. Head off into the desert along the road along which we came from Bolivia, climbing up to over 4000 m according to Mario. Up here there is some water in shallow ponds and some small areas of snow. It is COLD.

Water in the Desert

Water in the Desert

f I understand correctly this area is the source of water for the Rio San Pedro. Mario provided breakfast but I wasn’t feeling very hungry and the bread was very dry. Got chatting to one couple, he is Swiss in his late 30s and she is Japanese and looks much younger. From there we drove to an area of tall, wind-eroded rocks but think I am getting very blasé about desert landscapes. A few days ago I might have been impressed. 

Tall wind-eroded Rock

Mario and the Minibus

From there we descended towards the lake and again I wasn’t awestruck. No flamingos, no llamas, although we did see a herd of vicunas later on. Had some not very appetising lunch near the lake. Another tour company does a more upmarket tour with a proper table, canvas chairs and wine with the lunch. Mario did his best but I think the tour in Bolivia has spoilt me for desert landscapes. From the lake we drove back towards San Pedro arriving just before 5pm. Wasn't feeling very hungry so picked up some nibbles from one of the little shops near Hostal Desert.

Tuesday 3rd May

Afternoon went to the Meteorite Museum which doesn't open until 1700 in the afternoon. Excellent audio guide followed by personal explanation of some exhibits by very pretty girl who made it difficult for me to concentrate on the magnetic properties of a lump of dark rock.