San Pedro.....survival in the desert

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After a 24hour bus journey we arrived in the driest desert in the world, San Pedro de Atacama. The bus journey wasn´t so bad but it felt like I lost a few brain cells on-route......that night after arriving we went to eat in a restaurant & I was sitting there wondering how they managed when it rained because some of the roofs are just a piece of sack-cloth....driest desert in the world???? I forgot how far we´d come. The trip there was surprizingly good ......comfort is gauranteed with reclining seats, pillows, blankets, snack & great scenery. Thankfully I haven´t the most acute sense of smell; but even I could get the occassional waft of the toilet that somehow gets into the air-conditioning vent......not so fragrant!!

Off we went with a local to his hostel. Only 10 mins out of town & we had our own room. The streets are dusty & houses seem to be going up higglidy pigglidy, all made from the dusty brown earth all around so that everything seems to blends in. The night sky is beautiful.....no artificial lights to interfere with the spectacular light-show in the sky each night. So clear. The dusty dry air in the desert is a menace with the airways though.....the only relief you get is after a hot shower. As much as I´d like to stay in it all day.....water-wastage is obviously a prority in the desert!

San Pedro is a touristy little town....thrives on tourism alone. There are loads of restaurants & artesanial shops about but it still hasn´t lost its character......it´s an oasis in the desert. From San Pedro we did 2 day trips. The first one on Tuesday after an early-to-bed in preparation for our 4am pick-up. We were told to wear warm clothes for the trip to the Tatia geysers & even with the layers, I´ve never been so cold. It is set at an altitude of about 4660 m, the highest geyser field in the world. As I´m sure you all know, the geysers are found in volcanic regions & in my simple understanding, send plumes of boiling water up into the air. These water-shows can be constant or intermitent depending on the size of the underground chamber of water. When these underground bodies of water hit the molten hot rock 1000s of meters below.....the water starts to boil. When it can no longer be contained in the underground chamber, it shoots up to the surface. The reason we had to be there for 6am was to experience the geysers at their most spectacular time of day. You see, it´s very cold in the desert at night & until the sun rises, it´s about minus 10-5 degrees outside.....in winter it´s worse at about minus 20.....so I guess we were lucky. Because it is still freezing outside.......some of the hot water evaporates when it reaches the surface & creates clouds of vapour all around that looks impressive.....kind of like walking on another planet. So it was snotty noses all round, with the odd icicle of frozen snot for good measure. Even my rosy cheeks hibernated.....couldn´t keep them warm despite holding my gloved frost-bitten hands to my face. After breakfast we went to look at other geysers nearby & take a dip in the hot springs. As much as I love water, I couldn´t bring myself to strip off....another time!! We were up at greater than 4000m for most of the morning & the altitude showed no mercy on me, probably because I didn´t drink enough fluids!! So even the mildest of exertion & my heart was pounding & my head was thumping; worse than any workout or training I´ve ever done. It´s not a nice experience. Walking even a few meters & I had difficulty catching my breath. More water next time.

The following day we headed to a local swimming pool to "tomar el sol" and to cool off. Maybe it was the endless mass of brown desert & dirt but the 3km walk to the oasis seemed a lot further than that. We got there eventually, both of us baking. SO here we were in the middle of nowhere & not a soul to be had. The pool was closed with only the noise of water gushing into it. Fenced all around. Except for one little gap. We investigated the hole in the fence just to see if anyone was around and once again, not a soul. We hung around the pool for a while just to rest & avoid walking back to town in the heat of the day. After a while 2 maintenence men turned up......surprized I´m sure to find us there in our bikinis. Thankfully they didn´t turf us out or have us arrested for breaking & entering.....nonetheless we soon went on our merry way......

Next day we went on a day trip to the altiplano to see flamingoes in a natural reserve & visit some local villages. It was a great day tour......& with plenty of water on board, there was no fear of altitude sickness. We were planning on going mountain biking on our own the next day to Valle de la Luna but the guide advised us to go cycling in the canyon instead. Apparently it was a lovely cycle & easy to navigate. Well we took him up on his advice & off we headed the next morning at 8am towards the canyon. Despite the rising sun, it was pretty cold. We had to cross through a few shallow streams of water & for a while we both thought our toes would fall off from frostbite......they were throbbing with the pain but as it turned out, our toes were the least of our worries!! Quedaba del Diablo is the name of the canyon....Diablo means hell I think & if it doesn´t, that´s what I´ve come to think of it as!! It was meantto be a 3-4 hour round trip but after about 2 & a half hours in we were completely lost. Reddy brown rock juts up in every direction so that you are surrounded most of the time & everything looks the same...no landmarks & there are always a few tracks that look welll worn by bicycles. We got to a place where it looked like we were nearly finished......track got wider but it just brought us to a part of the canyon with absolutely no tracks. After searching in vain for a good 35 mins, we were lost & decided that the only way to possibly get out of the canyon was to turn back. Bear in mind we were out about 3 hours at this stage. Turned out the way back wasn´t so easy to find but we ended up following these piles of rocks that somebody had polaced along the path at intervals & llama droppings. It was a completely different track form the way we entered but at least we got out in the end. We ended up pushing our bikes most of the way because it was a steep trackk not meant for cycling. Thank God for those stone piles & droppings though. They were the keys to our survival...& a lot of praying! Without a doubt it was one of the scariest situations I´ve been in....the canyon is just so vast & I thought that we could very well die in the canyon & no-one would find us & by the time anyone would miss us......we be shrivelled up, dehydarted & rotting! We both got back to San Pedro a little shell-shocked......I was exhausted from the adrenaline rush & the fear. God was definitely watching over us!! We both vowed to never cycle a bike again...& certainly no canyons unless accompanied by someone in the know!!

That evening we headed to Calama to have a look around....it´s a big town about 1 hour from San Pedro. Nothing special but got a few bits for our trip the next day. I must mention the great fidsh that they have in Chile.....not sure if I told you but it´s called Reineta.....don´t think they breed it anywhere else around SA but it is so delicious. SO great with garlic. A thick white fish that fills you like meat would. But when we weren¨t eating that we were in the lovely O2 cafe that did the best omelettes in town with ample bread. And I always get double bread portions cause I have Grace´s as well. The people working there were sweet but some tourists come in & you´d be embarrrassed to be associated withthem because they have absolutely no manners & treat the staff as if they are imbeciles. Won´t mention the nationality but it´s disguting how some people behave......& they are travelling to experience other cultures, yet all they seem to do is criticize becaue it isn´t the same as home.

Anyway......that was the lovely San Pedro. Of all the scary things we´ve done.....I think I´ll always regard San Pedro as the place where we nearly died in the canyon.....but miraculously found our way home. Blessed we are!😊

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