16th – 18th January

After a very cold 8am visit to the desert said to have inspired Salvador Dali (though dubious as he never visited it) and the White and (toxic) Green lagoons, we said goodbye to our group most of whom were going back to Uyuni, including our travelling buddies Andy & Ash! We then headed to the Bolivia – Chile border which is literally in the middle of nowhere. Having exited Bolivia, we were quickly back on Tarmac roads (very welcome after 3 days off roading) and dropped 3000m into the town of San Pedro de Atacama. Finally we could breathe again.

Waiting to check into our hotel (swanky compared to where we’d been staying with our own little thatched cabin) we headed into town in the sweltering sun for a Chicken Enchilada lunch washed down with the local Cristal beer. After the towns and cities of Peru and Bolivia, San Pedro de Atacama is a very ‘chocolate box’ Spanish village – almost like a film set in the main square with its cafés and church, street food and pan pipe music played live in the street and the numerous holiday makers from all over Chile.

The two days we’ve spent here we’ve mainly been eating food in nice cafés / restaurants and relaxing after a busy 3 weeks trekking and touring. We had just one excursion planned to the Valle de la Luna which got cancelled due to thunderstorms in the late afternoon. To add to the holiday feel we found a Chilean bar which was full of locals (and dogs…) that played rock music and the bar staff kept the drinks flowing with table service. We spent both evenings here with Ben from the salt flats tour and were joined on the second by a couple who were on our bus into Chile who also had their trips cancelled. So with time on our hands and with refunds in our pockets we all spent longer than expected in the bar and finished the night in a pizza place with live entertainment – Charlie even taking a turn in the centre of the restaurant dancing with the Chilean dancers. A good end to 2 relaxing if uneventful days in Atacama ready for our 22 hour bus ride to the capital Santiago.