Our journey to San Pedro de Atacama had been reasonably comfortable.
However, it was well below the standards we were used to.
For Raul it had been a challenge. Since what lay ahead was much simpler and this would be the last opportunity to leave, he decided to return to Brazil.
We arrived from Arequipa and before Machu Picchu.
Ranji and I decided to continue.
The next day we went to see the city and get ready to go to Calama and then to San Pedro de Atacama.
Arica
It is the first Chilean city coming from Peru, in the extreme north of Chile, known as one of the driest cities in the world.
The sea here is more for surfers, very cold water.
We went to see the city center, the Vicuna Mackenna park, climbing to the top of El Morro.
From up there you have a panoramic view of the city, the place was important during the War of the Pacific.
Nearby is the Weapons Museum, which tells the story of the Pacific War.
The museum is located at the top of El Morro.
At the end of the night we took a bus to Calama (7 hours, US$20.00) and then another to San Pedro de Atacama (1.5 hours, US$5.00).
San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro is one of those little towns where it seems like time stands still.
There are no street lights, no asphalt, and very rustic houses.
However, it has a good infrastructure for tourism, good restaurants, etc.
It is located on a very arid plateau in the Andes mountains.
A place with dramatic landscapes, desert, salt flats, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs.
One of the most famous is the Valle de la Luna e de la Muerte, a place where it rarely rains and with unusual rock formations, huge dunes and mountains with pink stripes.
The walk through the valleys makes you feel as if you were really on the moon. You can feel the dryness of the place.
The Salar de Atacama, the largest of all
With an area of 3000 km², beneath its surface there is a lake hidden by a crust of salt.
This gives it its particular ochre-colored appearance.
The area is inhabited by several species of birds, including the Chilean pink flamingo.
Gêisers del Tatio.
We got up around 4 am to get there before sunrise.
The geysers are 80 kilometers from San Pedro.
The road is very bad, and it is 4,200 meters high.
When you get there, you can see impressive columns of steam rising from the ground.
It is very cold, but inside the van it was bearable.
When they opened the van, it was a shock; it was -15 degrees.
I ran back to the van and put on the rest of the clothes I had.
When I got out, it was possible to go closer to the geysers, where the temperature was much more pleasant.
The water reaches over 100 degrees Celsius.
Our guide brought us breakfast, which was prepared with eggs, milk and coffee in the heat of the geyser waters.
Now the hardest part of the trip is about to begin.
It will be a 4-day journey to the city of Uyuni, crossing the southern border of Bolivia and passing through the Uyuni salt flats.