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Published: March 7th 2011
Our day started at 5am by rocketing up the side of the mountain from San Pedro at 2200 meters above sea level to over 4300 meters. The van was driven (flown) by a guy named Walter, who could have driven it with his eyes closed. Our guide Pablo started with this briefing " We've got a 90 minute ride up the mountain in the dark and will return on the same route in the daylight. So don't worry about missing anything if you sleep on the way up." This turned out to be a sick joke, as I would have had an easier time sleeping on a roller coaster. Not only is the road up and down like crazy, it's 50 percent washboard. Abbey gets queazy from a combination of the ride, change in altitude, and lack of sleep.
Then we get to the geyser field, and she says, "This place is amazing. It's worth getting sick for." We wandered through the field in the pre dawn marvelling at the hundreds of puddles constantly bubbling with boiling water, hissing steam and occasionally spurting hot water as high as a few feet. All the while, the sunlight is starting to catch
the peaks of the Andes mountains around us. Next a light breakfast including hot chocolate that Walter made by submerging containers of pre mixed hot chocolate in a nearby boiling puddle.
It was cold when we arrived, about minus 2C, so all of you folks who have commented on the winter you're having in Canada please know that we felt your pain today. We headed right over to the hot springs which was shared with about 40 other travellers while about 60 others looked on. Not the most private affair, but it held its own unique intimacy because the hot water is all at one end of the pool and everybody squeezes together to get a piece of it. Nobody was more self confident in jockeying for the favored space than a certain nine year old from Northern Manitoba.
The altitude made most of us just a little wobbly on our feet which added a new dimension to the hasty act of changing back into clothes in the back of a van.
On the ride back down, we hardly noticed the road. With full daylight, we had breathtaking views of the Andes, including two active volcanoes smoldering
away. Saw wild animals similar to llamas ( I forget the name), and stopped in a village where the residents sell fried empanadas, hot llama kebobs, and alpaca wool products that came from Bolivia or Peru. Abbey is pretty tired from two early mornings, and we're not far behind.
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mom
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Amazing geysers
Glad you enjoy the tour, even if you had to get up at such an early hour. You look great in your raincoat, Abbey. I hear they are expecting some weird weather in New ?Brunswick- snow and rain, and they are worried about floods, too. Hope you can sleep in tomorrow. Great photos! XXX & OOO.