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Published: November 13th 2006
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Church of Machuca
A village with one church, four inhabitants and 150 llamas. Don't worry, be tour-ist If you have to choose from 30 bad apples, which one do you take? This question preoccupied us for at least a day after we had arrived in the boom-town of San Pedro, an oasis in the Atacama desert which is populated by a handful of llama herdsmen, quite a few souvenir sellers, plenty of guesthouse managers and definitely too many tour operators. In the meantime we picked out the raisins: We rented some bikes and did what excursions there were to do within a 15 kilometre perimeter of the pueblo, the most spectacular of them all being the famous Moon Valley at sunset. (Don't forget a lamp for the way back.) After the goodies were eaten we decided to taste the sour apples because without motorized transport the accessible sights are limited. For tour-ists on the other hand there are more options: Around 30 companies offer about two handful of standard tours (some of them disguised as special tours). As the differences between the offers are marginal and mostly unpredictable it is hard to make a choice. Even with slightly different schedules there still is a schedule and isn't that the intrinsic problem of tours?
The
Valle de la Luna
Lives up to its name. apple we pick is a decent one but nevertheless we are glad that we only have to eat half of it. We join a tour to the highland lagoons Miscanti and Minique which are nestled between half a dozen volcanoes at an altitude of around 4300 metres. After a pleasant visit of a flamingo colony in the morning we drop out of the tour at the above mentioned lagoons to spend the night at a marvellous refugio right next to them. We watch the tours roll out and the sun go down and celebrate our regained freedom with a couple of sweet biscuits.
After this tasty bite we dare to opt for the forbidden fruit: A full-grown sunrise tour to the El-Tatio geyser field including this and that and more. Start at 4am. As expected (I couldn't bring myself to think positive) we are picked up late. We then regain the lost time on the 2000 metres climb to El-Tatio just to fall behind again because of a ridiculous 25 minutes toilet stop. At the time we reach the geysers the sky is already bright but there are some promising clouds which would be illuminated soon. That's the time for
breakfast. Because I don't want to miss out on the famous geyser-boiled-eggs I let the clouds drift by to wolf down a few bites. Thanks to the interested face I put on as the guide is having a little speech about the history of the place I gain a 15 minutes time bonus which I invest in a walk through the geyser field to the road where they would pick me up. Next, we have 20 minutes to visit another six geysers (among them the largest of the area) and swim in a thermal pool. As the other tourists seem to be happy that they can now spell the word geyser correctly and that their lungs are still breathing at this unfamiliar altitude I am again the only one who is overstrained with the given agenda. On the way back we stop for llamas, flamingos, a flora-talk, churches, cacti, and alpaca shashlik, 5 minutes respectively (except for the (interesting) flora-talk 15 minutes). Nevertheless, we finish our tour five minutes early which gives me the time to write down...
10 things I like about tours *You don't have to worry whether you are going to miss the sunrise
El Tatio geyserfield at sunrise
Or at least shortly afterwards... or not. You will miss it anyway.
*It makes you feel like a rich man if, after you have paid for a relatively expensive tour (which doesn't include any of several entry fees), you are staring for 3 hours at the prominent sign in the bus informing you that a tip is expected at the end of the day.
*It makes you feel like a very special person if the guide is telling you that everybody is waiting just for you.
* After a couple of tours at 4000 metres you have the fitness of an athlete as you always have to run back to the bus when your time is up.
*You don't have to worry too much about the composition of your photos as you will be dropped at
the picture point. And dare you move away for more than 20 metres.
* At teatime you will learn which is the cheapest cookie brand on the market.
*It is consoling to meet other people who were desperate enough to sign up for a tour.
*No matter how tight the schedule, there is always enough time for lunch and souvenir shopping.
Flamingo flight
Practising for the synchronized flying contest held every year in december. * You will never be late for dinner because the guides don't like to be late for dinner neither.
*And the best thing about tours: If you do three you get one free. Thank you very much!
Having written all that I have to say that San Pedro is a friendly and relaxed place, the landscape is very scenic and the tours are not all that bad if you forgive them for being tours. If you don't have any particular interests and are open for whatever the tour has in store for you, you will have a good day.
Find more stories and pictures on our
Lovelyplanet-Homepage.
Planet Portrait *
Top 3: Sunset at the Moon Valley
Stay overnight at Miscanti Lagoon
Dig into a plate full of food at the stalls behind the San Pedro football field
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Our route: Santiago - Valparaiso - San Pedro de Atacama - Arica
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That was bad: Too many tour-companies in San Pedro which offer more or less the same. The differences (late pick-up, acceptance of credit cards, size of meals, size of groups, tight or relaxed schedule...) are hard
Vicuñas
One of the two wild South American members of the camel family (camelids). to predict.
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Recommended guest house: Cabanas Candelaria in San Pedro. A bit outside the centre but you are likely to get a better rate. Friendly, uncomplicated, clean.
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Visa: Free on arrival
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We paid for a meal: between 1200 and 2000 pesos.
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We paid for a bike: 5000 pesos for 24 hours.
Planet Pictures
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