Antofagasta -> San Pedro de Atacama

---

---

I got up at 8 am and had the included breakfast – it was a roll with guacamole, some sort of weird bread pudding and a pink custard – the guacamole roll wasn’t bad but the rest was a bit iffy. Since our bus to San Pedro de Atacama wasn’t until 1:30 pm I walked around a bit. Lonely Planet guide said Antofagasta isn’t high on most tourists’ list of places to visit because it’s a mining city but the main square was actually well landscaped and prettier than La Serena’s Plaza de Armas.

With a short stopover in Calama, we got to San Pedro around 6:30 pm, an oasis town at the edge of the Atacama Desert. The town itself is very small and very walkable, mostly restaurants and tour operators, and lots of gringos. That night I had the most expensive dinner of the trip – steak + a glass of pisco – for $8900, still very cheap by North American standards.

There is another international astronomical observatory nearby. I didn’t go but apparently it was quite informative, with the astronomer pointing out the difference between astronomy and astrology.

Hotel: Residencial Don Raul, the best included breakfast of the trip

---