San Pedro de Atacama Chile

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Days 68-69 Our 4x4 adventure through the Salt Flat region came to an end in San Pedro de Atacama after crossing the border into Chile. A two day stop in a hostel with showers was most welcome.

The trip from the border to San Pedro was an almost straight 2000 mtr drop in altitude over approximately 50 km's. The change to a hot temperature was most welcome as well as remarkable given our early morning freezing conditions.

San Pedro is a small oasis town in the Atacama desert. It is a quirky little place with low-lying mud brick adobe buildings lining narrow streets which lead to a sleepy tree-lined plaza and the usual church and museum. The town is a backpackers haven with a relaxed feel & offering the full range of adventure activities.

The afternoon was mostly relaxing firstly meeting our new Chile/Argentinean guide (Yarmilla ) over lunch who outlined the activities available in San Pedro & the program for the next 10 days till our final stop.

Most of the group opted to hire bikes for half a day and ride for an hour to Leguna Cejar, a very high salt content lake with a high buoyancy effect & able to float on the water like the Dead Sea. The ride was a relaxing outing taking in the hazy light blue mountains & surrounding volcanos in the far distance, the beautiful turquoise water of the lake & the vastness of the Chilean salt flats.

The lake was icy at first but was quite bearable once the body adjusted & the floating effect was quite surreal especially for a lead weight like me. A cold shower was not enough to wash the salt off and the ride back was in full sun but a fun day had by all.

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