riding the Atacama Desert - driest place on the mundo
sand storm in Valle de Luna (2)
crossing Bolivia into Chile
Tatio Geyers - highest geyser fields in the world (4,320m)
same same but notice the people
Chile here we come and hopefully some better (like warmer) weather! Through a very rustic looking Bolivian border crossing (but the crossing guard was as friendly as ever and even though we missed the Bolivian Aduana (customs) by about 50 km he said "don´t worry!"
One long descent into San Pedro de Atacama and it is warmer as a drop in app. 3000m usually means better temperature! This pretty little tourist town is going to be our only stay in Chile as the weather south of Santiago is to cold for riding and there is not much to see between here and Santiago. (Our original plan was to only visit the Atacama Desert (the driest place in the world) then turn east into Argentina.)
After getting settled in at a nice (but expensive...like everything in Chile) hostel it is time to explore. First on the agenda is a 3am trip to the Tatio Geyser field which conists of over 100 geysers which form the highest elevation geyser field in the world (at 3445m ASL). Why so early in the morning...the -15 temperature really sets off the steam created when the underground frozen river contacts hot volcanic rocks. One can wander about the geyser field but piles of rocks around the largest geysers are a reminder to stay back (some tourists have been "par-boiled" when they got a little too close!) Like most of S. America...there aren´t many rules...just the rule of survival as in "do something dumb and....too bad for you!
After checking out some local ruins we then spent the next day on the huge Laguna de Atacama...an old lake that has dried up with the exception of a few deep sink-holes. The crystal blue water is set off perfectly by the white salt walls around the sink-holes and the neatest thing is that even I can actually float in the ice cold water! (Matter of fact it is almost impossible to sink...there is so much salt that one cannot dive from the surface and get under water and when you get out of the water you turn white with salt...good sunblock but one itchy mess on the old hide!) Three different types of flamingo inhabit these waters including the rare Puna variety and they certainly look pretty against the desert setting.
We rode into several small desert towns that our travel books call "sleepy" and they certainly were! No food, gas or anything else so dinner was potato chips and water!
An evening ride and hikes through the Valle de Luna (yes...I think that every country in S. America has its own Valle de Luna) was kind of enjoyable with some neat sand dunes and gorgeous evening sunsets.
We only are spending a week in Chile...we finally found a place that is more expensive than Canada! Gas is about 1.30 US a litre, oil 7 US a litre (not good when your burning oil like our Hondogs!), food is crazy (like and in many cases not so good..(example: One vegetarian Pizza cost 24 US and consisted of one frozen pack of vegetables (beans, carrots, peas, corn (exactly the same frozen mixed barf you buy at Overwaitea) with some cheese on bread...would have been acceptable for 5 US but 25 US??, every visit to any lake, ruin cost a min of 8 US. I thought that prices might be high because of the fact that San Pedro de Atacama is a "tourist trap" but friends we have met have told us that things got even more expensive as you got closer to Santiago!
On the positive side: the people are great (nothing unusual here) but seem to be more out-going than in Bolivia and Peru. The beer is good and the Atacama is a pretty cool place to visit..we love desert (especially if it is above freezing!!) Goodbye Chile...Argentina here we come!!!
