San Pedro de Atacama

From Antofagasta we headed to San Pedro de Atacama to see the desert. The bus was delayed by an hour, but with us not knowing much Spanish (or any) we didn't have a clue what was going on! Eventually it arrived and we were on our way to San Pedro…

We arrived in San Pedro at about 4ish in the scorching heat! With our rucksacks on our backs we went looking for some accommodation. By the time we had visited 4 hostels with no luck we were getting a bit worried…but we did eventually find one, and it was surprisingly very nice! There was internet access, breakfast included, and a pack of 4 Alsatians. Once settled we headed out to book up some trips for the coming days…

Trip 1 - Horse Riding through Death Valley

We were picked up by a lady (Cow Girl) tour guide who took us to her stables. When we pulled up to the stables a pack of 6 dogs bounded over to us (of all sizes), which were to come along with us on the ride. One of the dogs was called Wolf…he was really big, black and shaggy and wore a neckerchief! The 1st thing we thought when we saw the horse was "OMG that white horse is huge!" … and guess what!? That was Matt's! It was called Gringo (quite appropriately!)

Everyone saddled up and we started the 4 hour ride. Matt's horse was really naughty when it came to food, wanting to munch on every green bit it saw. Matt had a bit of trouble controlling it to begin with! After about an hour, Emily swapped the slow horse that she was on with the lead horse (which was even bigger than Matt's)! A few minutes later we reached a flat open sand dune area where the horses knew they always had a gallop. Emily was really glad she swapped only a few minutes earlier as her horse darted off into the distance. An amazing feeling!! Matt's followed but only for a while before it decided to stop (the horse was in control!) Matt was concentrating on staying on more than egging the reluctant Gringo on. We realised then that the sign for the horses to gallop was when the tour lady took her cowboy hat off…

So she took it off again! Matt quickly put his camera away and held on tight. Emily was riding the lead horse which galloped off in to the distance as predicted…Gringo followed suit this time and continued to go after Matt continually shouted ´Vamos´! At full gallop Emily's horse veered off to the left up a rock bank, a slight detour but still Gringo followed! No more ´Vamos´ shouting could be heard! After this excitement we gently rode back to the ranch. We had such a great time, and even got a cold free beer when we arrived back! This has been the highlight of our trip so far as it was just SO much fun. Matt was really pleased that he galloped the 1st time he had even sat in a saddle on such a huge horse (the mule is nothing now!)

Trip 2 - Geysers of el Tatio

Another early start at 3.30am to get to the Geysers at prime time. Bus took 2 hours to get there and it was EXREMELY bumpy! As soon as the bus door opened we realised that we were underdressed in combats and a hoody as it was FREEZING. Thermals and boots were needed but they were left at the hostel… Nevertheless, the geysers were impressive and well worth the cold feet.

To warm us up we had a thermal spa…it wasn´t so warm getting undressed but well worth it when you got in. Some bits even scalded you! On the way back we stopped to see some Flamenco and got back in time for lunch…

Trip 3 - Lunar Valley

At 4pm on the same day we headed to the Lunar Valley to see the sunset. We had the MOST annoying group ever!! We both (but mostly Matt) got annoyed with them…one guy thought the window seat had his name on it, another guy kept kicking the landforms to get bits of rock for his son, and ´window seat´ man's wife must have taken at least 10,000 photos with her multiple lenses!

Apart from the company the landscapes were amazing and we had a really good day.San Pedro was a real highlight for us… it was nice to see something else other than tacky beach towns in Chile! From San Pedro we headed to La Serena for 1 night before heading to Santiago on the 13th Feb 08.