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We're off again to Chile……well almost, someone had neglected to print out the e-tickets and the bus driver wasn't in the mood to let us onto the bus without tickets, even though he had our names and passport numbers on his list. After lots of watching tapping by the bus driver and Mike running around the agency office, we finally got underway.
The bus had recliner seats and video again, which was probably a good thing because it was a 12 hour bus journey. As per my usual habit, I tried my hardest to fall asleep asap.
This was going to be our first experience of being at altitude, San Pedro is set at 2,400 metres or so, but we had to go over passes that were much higher to get there. To allow for this, I topped up on rehydration salts and tried to keep up the drinking. It seemed that this wasn't enough and I felt a little light-headed in parts. Not too much else happened on the bus, except they played Avatar and Twilight - New Moon..
On arrival at San Pedro, we were expecting an immigration check and then for the bus to drop us in town. We went through the process of immigration, firstly the standard passport check and we then had to carry our bags through the x-ray system. The process took a while because we weren't allowed to just allowed to go in willy nilly, it all had to be done in passenger list order, for some reason.
Being just about last on the list, once I'd finished, I'd was surprised to find everyone standing around outside the bus. It seems that this was our stop.
San Pedro is a town of 2,000 people, so there wasn't any taxis waiting for us, so we had to hull our possessions into town.
Although it wasn't a long walk, the altitude and the heavy bags weren't a good combination. We were handed a pamphlet for a hostel, which Jill and I were quite happy to check out, and it took some convincing to get the others to have a look. They weren't impressed, but Jill and I were at the point that we just wanted to find a bed, without traipsing the length and breadth of the town. Unfortunately there were no private rooms left, so we had to find another option. This came in the form of the hotel across the street.
It was a fairly plush hotel - it may just have been one of the nicest in town, well it should have been considering the price we paid - 70,000 Chilean pesos for a night (about the equivalent of 100 GBP). The room was divine though, beautiful linen, the most amazing shower, a pool, a guest's library, probably one of the best I've ever stayed at.
After freshening up, we went for a look around town to try and organise a few day trips. San Pedro was one of those places that there was so much to do but not enough time to do it.
That night was also the first time in about four days that I'd eaten a proper meal and it was brilliant, a Thai green chicken curry, served in a coconut shell.
The next day, Thursday, we were off on a day trip around the Chilean Salt Lakes. This was the build up to what we would see in Uyuni. The difference between the Chilean lakes and the Bolivian ones was that the Chilean lakes were built up from underground water systems, whilst the Bolivian salar was flat, because of the water coming down from the skies. We hadn't planned to do this trip, but it was well worth the effort and money, the lakes that we visited, were stunning, rich in various colours that photos just don't justify.
After a big day, we headed back to San Pedro and prayed that the clouds in the skies would dissipate because we were due to spend the night out in the desert star gazing.
A bus took us out to the French astronomer's house, where we were greeted by his wife, who gave us a quick overview of the stars. There were several telescopes for us to look through to see the various things in the night's sky - the moon, Saturn and it's rings, a gaseous cloud, Alpha Centurion , a cluster of stars, the jewelled stars next to the Southern Cross as well as the Dog Star. The Astronomer then gave us a well rehearsed breakdown of astronomy, how the constellations work, the way they move each night across the sky and how over time the stars themselves actually changed. he also gave the males a lesson in how to pick up a girl, using the stars. It was extremely entertaining and to be able to look through the telescopes and get so close to the stars was one of the best things I'd done in the last four months.
Having spent 11 years in the Northern Hemisphere, when I was travelling to the Southern, I'd always get excited about being able to see the Southern Cross again. It was a strange obsession, but yet again, the Southern Cross was one of those things that was under my nose for 24 years, that I took for granted.and I didn't really miss it until it was gone.
Friday, we got a sleep in. In the afternoon, we went on a trip around to Death Valley and Luna Valley. The landscapes were spectacular. Death Valley is incorrectly named, it was actually named Mars valley by the locals, but due to a mistranslation the English called it Death (Mars in Spanish is Marte, which is similar to death - Muerte).
One part of the valley is designed in such a way that due to the ever so slight movement of the rocks, the valley makes a deep cracking sound, similar to the sound of the ice breaking from a glacier.
We headed up a sand dune to watch the sunset over Luna Valley. From our vantage point, it wasn't that amazing, but after what seemed a delayed reaction, on our way back down the sunset emerged spectacular.
Saturday was our last San Pedro trip and this was up to over 4,000 metres to see some geysers. This was going to be the hardest of the trips, not just because of the altitude, but because it was a 4am start. Not being a morning person, this was going to be some effort for me.
We jumped into the van in the most uncomfortable seats in the world, not a great thought considering we had a two hour journey ahead of us. It took us at least a half hour to realise that there were seat adjusters in the bizarre-ist of places. Once adjusted, I settled in to get some rest. Although the eclectic list of music from Guns & Roses, to 80s power ballads through to Mariah Carey, was enticing, I did managed to get a few minutes shut-eye.
When we'd booked the trip, we'd been told to wrap up warm for the pre-sunrise temperatures. Having grown up in a place where snow was a regular occurrence and freezing temperatures were a standard, I thought I was fairly well placed to cope with whatever the temperatures were going to throw at me. I was wrong.
Minus nine degrees…….
It was beyond freezing, even with multiple layers on, the coldness ripped through me like a knife. Poor Jill was in a worse position, she had no gloves and her fingers were so cold, she couldn't take photos.
Once I got over the bitterly cold weather, I turned my attention to the view at hand, dozens of steam holes, that produced varying sized geysers. Further to the exceptional health and safety regulations that South America seemed to be renowned for, the only thing standing between the public and third degree burns was a ring of stones on some of the geysers, others had absolutely no safety controls.
As pretty as the view was, the van seemed to be the most inviting place while the sun was waiting to making an appearance so whilst everyone else stayed outside supping tea and eating boiled eggs, I sought out some warmth in the van.
After the sun came out, we had another wander around the geysers, but it was true the best time was to seem them whilst the sun and the temperature were low.
Next on the agenda was a trip to the Killer Geyser, which had seen at least six people loose their lives because they'd fallen into the geyser. This was the most spectacular of the geysers and it was a misfortune that we didn't get to see it in it's full glory pre-sunrise. But I guess with a name like Killer, it was probably the safer option, to keep the punters away at this hour of the day.
The journey back included a stop at a tiny village with just a handful of people living there. It was here that we got our first taste of llama. The first thoughts in my head were relating to how long it would be before we got sick from eating roadside food, but this was surpassed with the succulent taste of the meat. I would highly recommend llama kebabs to everyone, even the vegetarians in the world, it was truly magnificent.
As well as amazing day trips, San Pedro also had a brilliant array of restaurants, and our final night was spent at one such restaurant. Even though I'm not an astounding cook, I think that the meals that I had in San Pedro were the closest to the meals that I would get at home compared to any others I'd had in all of South America.
San Pedro would definitely be near the top of the list of my recommendations for people considering going to South America, I had a fantastic time.
- comments
Michele So a recommendation even for a veggie!!!!