San Pedro de Atacama

Day 229 – San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

So I’ve finally reached the tourist’s Mecca of Northern Chile, San Pedro de Atacama. For that I missed a bus Monday morning, yesterday, because I hadn’t understood when the lady told me it was leaving from in front of their office, not at the terminal 50m down the road. So of course I waited at the terminal and it never came.

The hour and a half to get from Calama to San Pedro gets by quickly, and the scenery is stunning. Here the desert is arid, and everything in San Pedro is dry and dusty. I did feel the promised shortness of breath when trying to walk too fast with my backpack on my way to the hostel!

The tap water isn’t drinkable, so everybody buys huge 6L water bottles and fills smaller ones; you can guess at the number of empty bottles laying around. I dutifully bought mine, but I would like to know exactly why the water isn’t drinkable, as I would much rather use purification pills -of which I have plenty. (Quick check: the problem is the minerals in the water, not any bacteria, so no pills.)

I’ve already booked two excursions, one to the Moon Valley, and one to the El Tatio geysers. The Moon Valley is a valley with a rough landscape, reminiscent of the Moon -hence the name. The done thing is to go for sunset. The geysers are around 4,000 m above sea level, and the tours take you at sunrise. (Safety tip: don’t fall into one.) I had to sign a disclaimer and give medical information for that tour. At this altitude, before sunrise, the temperature is expected to be around -10°C, so I’ll put to good use my new woollen cap, and all the layers possible. I will probably look uncoordinated and quite ridiculous. Of course, to be there on time, we will leave at 4:30 am. I… look almost forward to it.

My hostel offers hot water through solar panels, so from 9am to 10pm (though I’m dubious of the heat of the water after 9pm, as the sun has gone down at that time). They dutifully clean the bathrooms twice a day, preferably when I would like to use them (like, really use them now and not in 10 min), I’m torn between impressed and frustrated.

There is a black cat living around here too, and allergic to pictures: when I point my camera towards it, it very smoothly find something more interesting to do.

I had booked three nights initially here (I don’t want to book too long in case I’m not happy), and indeed I’m extending my stay in another hostel… with more convivial common areas, hopefully. I expect to be here through the 24th.

(Pictured above: the church.)