El Tatio Geysers

"El Tatio is among the highest-elevation geyser fields in the world. El Tatio has over 80 active geysers, making it the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest in the world"

I cannot BELIEVE the extreme temperatures in this place, just in the one day! I got picked up at 530am and driven about an hour and a half. We were warned to wrap up. I'm from Scotland I thought. I know all about layers. 5 should do. NO 5 DIDN'T do at all! I was reminded of being in Canada visiting my sister one time. It was minus 20 there I think (Susan correct me if I'm wrong). My nostrils froze as I breathed in, huge lakes froze over with the ice deep enough to DRIVE over let alone skate, and the overhead wires snapped right in front of us! Ok that was Canada. It wasn't QUITE that extreme. But it WAS minus 9!!! Can you believe it? I couldn't! I had my thin (researched for minimum packing) gloves and hat on as well as my (researched for minimum packing) goose down ultra light jacket (which to be honest is OUTSTANDING....well in all other conditions perhaps). But I was almost crying with how painfully cold my hands were. They just wouldn't heat up. Even when I shoved them down my duke!! (Scottish for front of my, um, I dunno, my breast area I guess ha ha)

So anyway, I forced myself to stay out of the minibus looking at the fantastic geysers spurting out steam from the pressure under the ground. Even though all my instincts were shouting at me to GET THE HELL BACK IN.....SAVE YOURSELF!!!

Bleurgh. There is no milk in this half of the hemisphere. Well, not milk as we know it anyway. It's weird creamy stuff if they have it at all. At the moment I'm drinking tea. The normal UK type tea, but with no milk. Bleurgh.

Anyway, we were promised that as soon as the sun came up we'd notice a difference. Sure enough, the sun came up and yes I was one or two degrees warmer. I suppose. We had to get there that early as it's the coldest and we'd see the full effect from the hot geysers against the cold air. When we left, at around 10am, the effect wasn't nearly as astounding. They were amazing to see to be honest and well worth the freezing cold temperature! Some guy was even boiling an egg in one of the wee tiny ones! I only took a couple of pics cos I took so many yesterday and I was more intent on charging my chromebook I forgot about my camera so it died on me after only two! I did employ my own personal photographer though (I asked her to take some on her camera and send to me) so I have an adequate amount.

We then went a bit further on to where the natural hot spring was. Who's going in? asked the guide. At this point I'm thinking I need to go in.....but only cos I told you all I would and I had to damn it! But I was still freezing and looking around, people getting in and out had goose pimples on their goose pimples! Anyway, I did it. It was horrible. From taking my 1st layer off, to tiptoeing across the terrain trying to avoid stepping in mini boiling geysers, to submerging myself (it wasn't even hot damn it....lukewarm at a max), to swimming to the source of the heat, to having to push people out the way cos they were hogging the heat, to getting burned cos I got too close to the source, to getting back out again, until ALL my layers were back on again! I was also told these were the highest hot springs in the world but there are some at my wonderful salt flats in Bolivia and I'm pretty sure it's higher there. Anyway as the others (about 15) watched us (about 6) with a smug warm grin on their faces I was still pleased I did it. Not sure why really but I know if Andy was with me there would have been no question. So yeah thanks Andy.

We passed through a small village to supplement their income by eating Llama....well I didn't and you know why...then went back to San Pedro. I had only a few hours to kill before my bus to La Serena at 5pm so I sewed my backpack (remember locking myself out?....a bit late I know, but still) and chilled out for a while. OMG I saw my first, and hopefully last dead dog! (although Trevor said he saw 2 or 3 PER DAY. I guess if you're driving everywhere you're bound to though). I had to do a double take as I thought it was sleeping at first, as lots do. I won't go into visual detail about it but it was most definitely not sleeping!