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Published: January 31st 2008
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San Pedro - sandboarding
Arriving at the dunes by mountain bike We knew we had arrived in Chile as the mini bus did not rattle and shake...a tarred road! The temperature also became noticably warmer as we dropped altitude. Customs were very efficient as they searched every inch of our rucksacks (fortunately not of us!). One of the american guys on the minibus was asked by a lady customs official whether he voted for George Bush, to which he answered ´no´...(obviously). She said someone needs to get rid of him and pointed two fingers to her temple...
Chile is much more expensive than we have been accustomed to. In fact, it is the most expensive country in South America. It is much more developed with modern vehicles around and even pavements! (Though the obligatory stray dogs are still the norm) The town of San Pedro de Atacama is a typical tourist trap as it is mainly a stopoff point alongside the border. It is however very chilled out and pleasant with single story mud and wood houses. We took full advantage of the relaxed vibe and spent 3 days here doing pretty much nothing. We were still travelling with the Danish couple and also had a Kiwi couple join up with
San Pedro - sandboarding
Murray, Erica, Lina, Jorge (instructor) and Katy discussing the next run the four of us (we met them after giving them a lift to the border when their jeep broke down on the Salar 3 day trip). We were the last 6 people to book our ticket on the bus to Salta (Argentina) and so could relax more than the majority of travellers, who were chasing around trying to arrange private minibuses to take them across the border. Any business man who has the money to start up a bus company (and bribe the goverment to do so) should look no further than San Pedro-Salta! Unbelievable shortage of seats.
We found a cosy place to stay that had an outside ´stoep´(patio) with a braai area (So Henry was happy!) and table and chairs. The first day was spent browsing the shops, loitering and booking a sandboarding trip. Henry also found a large wooden pallet that no-one had claimed and carried it back to the hostel with the braai in mind. The evening we ate at a pleasant restaurant with live music (man with pan flute from head to toe!)
The next morning Henry and Katy went on a proper wood collecting trip. We found a couple of chaps building
San Pedro - sandboarding
Henry using his surfing style! a hut and one agreed to bring us 15 kg of wood that evening. We also stopped by the vegetable shop and stocked up for the evening. The butchers was quite an experience too. We were basically offered a cow but settled for a few steaks!
In the afternoon we met the guide/sandboard instructor and realised we had to cycle about 3km to a large dune with the sandboards balanced in our rucksack straps (for those that did not have a rucksack to wedge the board into, an empty one was provided!) It was a nice cycle through some small canyons, dried out riverbeds and rocky outcrops. The canyons were dark orange with bits of white salt visible and we were informed that when it rained all the canyon surfaces turned white due to the salt washing to the surface.
The sandboarding was really fun! Not as scary as it first looked from the summit. We had a few practice runs and learnt how to steer and slow the board down! We all had varying degrees of success initially with the skiiers and surfers faring better. We all found out that it doesnt hurt too much when falling
San Pedro - sandboarding
Katy - A bit wobbly but just about managing to stay up! into the sand...unless you are going too fast! We all however managed to make it from top to bottom (three quarters is pretty much there isnt it...) of the big slope without falling.
Late afternoon the six of us headed back, tired, happy and hungry. Picked up some cold beers and vino on the way. Ivan the woodman arrived on time and on the back of his truck he had two piles of wood. He then pulled out a bathroom scale and weighed the lot which came to 45 kilos! Very dissapointed that we didnt take the lot but happy with his fifty pence, he left. The fire was lit and we kicked off what ended up being a lovely evening together. The steak and roast potatoes were winners, washed down with the local wine.
The next morning we all met up ready for our bus trip...some feeling a bit rough. We spent another 30 minutes at the border crossing and then slept our way through the initial but apparently picturesque scenery of ARGENTINA!
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Glad you're having a great time. Keeping a close eye on your progress. Not much to report back here in London other than it's freaking cold. Look after yourselves. N