The Vagrant Gypsy Life

Day 165 Fri 11/2 San Pedro de Atacama
After the 23 hour bus ride, I arrived in SP. The small town in the desert is very picturesque. The main square is filled with offices of tour groups. Tourism is a really important part source of income and that can be seen in the restaurants and the markets. It is the most arid desert in the world and water is extremely scarce – which might explain why it is so expensive.

Went for a walk after settling in. Had dinner, read my book and went to bed fairly early.

Day 166 Sat 12/2 San Pedro de Atacama

Woke up at 04:00 to take the tour to the Tatio geysers. Quite a surreal experience to see hot water and steam shooting out, while it was cold and we were surrounded by mountains. Hot springs in the cold out in the desert.

Had a swim in one of the hot thermal pools. The tour served us breakfast, after which we visited a village. I think the village has about 40 inhabitants? Saw maybe about 5 people in the village.

Back at the hostel, it was time for a coupe of football games, as my favourite teams, Arsenal and Barcelona were playing in their respective leagues.

Day 167 Sun 13/2 San Pedro de Atacama

Rented a bike and did some sightseeing in the morning. After lunch, I headed to Valle de La Luna, which is about 15 k outside the town. It was extremely sunny and hot, but the views were well worth it. I could not believe a desert formation could be so beautiful.

I had meant to catch the sunset at Valle de La Muerte, but managed to get a headache from the sun and decided to take a nap. Woke up well after sunset and chatted with a couple of fellow travellers. Every time I have one of these conversations, my “must see” list grows longer.

Day 168 Mon 14/2 San Pedro de Atacama

The day started at Tacanao town, on a tour to Salar de Atacama, the salt flat in Atacama, where we saw flamigoes on Laguna Chaxa. We also visited a couple more Altiplanic lakes, before heading to another village for lunch.

I was checking my financial situation, when I realised that someone had stolen 100 USD from me. I had lokced the bag with locks on the straps. The devious so and so (the terms I have in mind will probably get the blog taken off) prised off the straps by lifting up the loop on which they are housed. He made the mistake of putting it back in the wrong hoop.

The owner of the hostel was extremely upset and gave me a USD 50 discount on my stay and my tours, so I could recuperate some of my losses. Kindness and treachery on the same day…

Tags: Travel

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