ATACAMA - GEYSERS DEL TATIO

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Bleary eyed but with great expectations. We got up promptly at 3:00 AM and got dressed for our trip to the Geysers del Tatio.

We had been warned the previous day by other people who had already done the tour that it would be freezing. The tour bus picked us up shortly after 4:00 AM, and we attempted to sleep during the long climb to the valley. It is 4322 (if I recall correctly) meters above sea level, and Patricia had planned as much as she could to prevent altitude sickness. She had been drinking mate de coca tea, and had some with her, plus she had ordered glucose tablets online for us to chew during the trip.

I had bought the previously mentioned wind breaker, specially for the trip, plus a warm fleece jacket. I put on the same turtle neck from the day before, optimistically on top of a bathingn suit, and figured I was as ready as I could be. Wrong! I knew I should have had gloves, but they were in my wrecked car at the mechanic's. I should have bought some!

We arrived at the valley before sunrise. It is the time where the steam is most visible, and well worth suffering the seering cold. It was 14 degrees. Good lord! It didn't take long for my hands to hurt from the cold, and I kept pulling the collar of my top over my lower face to protect it as best I could.

But it was amazing! We walked around the field for a good while. We stopped by one of the bigger geyers that is active every five minutes, and viewed the next one that starts whenever its twin sister stops. We saw a new baby geyser that had started about three weeks previously. Everywhere you look in the valley you see the plumes of steam rising from the wet ground, all in the shadow of the looming Tatio volvano. Tatio, in the language of the local indians, means the grandfather that cries. The name came from the rock formation next to the volcano, that looks like a face in profile. During the winter, snow is deposted in the eye socket, and during the summer it melts and forms a temporary waterfall, hence the name, Tatio.

This area is not a national park, even though the President of Chile said he was going to make it one a few years back. There is great concern that it will be taken over by commercial enterprises to try to use it as energy, and that it will be closed to the public. It is the third largest geyser field in the world, behind Yellowstone and another place in Russia. It is a wonder!

Just before sunrise we walked over to one particular crater, where part of our breakfast was being cooked. Cartons of milk and chocolate milk, and a bag of raw eggs (now nicely hard boiled) had been deposited there earlier, and now it was time to have breakfast, just as the sun was coming up. I didn't eat any of the eggs, but I did hold one in my hands, just to try to warm my poor frozen fingers a little bit. The hot chocolate was heavenly, specially with the cheese sandwich that is what I picked to eat. Some chocolate filled cookie sandwiches completed the meal.

From there we drove to the thermal spring. The choices were to go swimming in the hot spring, or to view the two largest geyers in the field. I opted for the second option after all. OK. I rationalized that I was supposed to be going swimming somewhere else that afternoon, and my bathing suit would not have time to dry, and I had no other pants to wear. However, maybe I was just being a chicken because of the cold. Even with the sun already out it was pretty cold up there, and the "dressing room" was a stone building without any heat. The thought of taking my clothes off, and later on putting some really cold clothes back on after the warm water was daunting. I did warm my hands in the warm water, closest I could to the spot where the boiling water was coming out of the ground.

Also, by this time, the altitude was taking a little toll on me. I felt it during the long slight incline to see the last geyser. I was mostly OK, not like a poor girl on the tour that was so sick she could not get up from the back seat of the bus, but enough that I was not feeling particularly ambitious. A little dizzy spell and nausea can be a deterrent, even in mild form. I popped another glucose tablet, and determined to take it a bit easy for the remainder of the trip.

On the way back we visited several other spots. One was the village of Machuca, population 5. This little hamlet in the middle of nowhere used to have all of seven families living there, but most of them took off for the "towns," and the last remaining five make a living out of serving Llama kebobs, and cheese (both cow and goat) Empanadas to the tourists that stop by. Surprisingly, the pit to grill the meat was fairly contemporary, as was the kitchen where they fried the Empanadas. They were very good, by the way. It was a picturesque stop, this ancient little place with the tiny church a little above the town, and the customary shop selling alpaca goods and other souvenirs. But I think the residents do make a fairly good living, based on the amount of people who bought from them. I had intended to eat a kebob, but having seen some of the Llamas, with those long lashed beautiful eyes, I just didn't have the heart to do it.

While we were there we were visited by the resident seagull, looking for food, but we were asked not to give her anything. Poor bird! It appears it never gives up hope of eventually getting something.

Another stop was very unexpected. How it is there I'm not sure, but right in the middle of the desert there is a marshy area where a large selection of birds live. The variety was surprising, and it was delightful to watch them in this habitat. Our guide, Valeska, was identifying them as we walked along this "vade" but I don't really remember their names. There were a lot of different species of ducks, and other varieties of birds.

We got back to San Pedro about noon, and both just fell flat on the bed and decided to try to take about an hour nap before going to explore a little bit more of the town and find something to eat. Afterwards I realized I should have roasted for a while by the pool, and that would have dried my bathing suit. Oh, well!

We got up as planned and walked around the square, visited the rustic church that smelled overwhelmingly of wood polish and poked our heads in the doors of various restaurants until we found one that seemed to have some light fare. Neither of us was too hungry after the nice breakfast, but knew we would not be getting back until around 9:00 PM again tonight from our tour and wanted to eat something before then.

The little restaurant had a charming patio in the back, and the food was good, even if the service (unintentional by the smiling waitress) was a little slugish. There we had a cute visitor. A little bird was determined to have some of my bread and hovered around close enough until Patricia put some crumbs at the edge of the table and he took it away in a flash.

Eventually he came back with some friends, and we had fun putting crumbs out for them to "steal."

We were not successful again in finding a pair of pants for me. Having to put my very dusty jeans again for dinner that night, and to fly home the next day was extremely off putting, but it seemed like there was no other choice. I was also disappointed in not finding some souvenirs to buy. Everything was too touristy. Little Llama toys and indian cloth figures, and things like that. Not even refrigerator magnets with nice pictures of the attractions. The alpaca clothes was very "Indian" in their designs, very colorful, but the designs were very rustic. Nice stuff if I still went camping a lot, but it was definitely not "city" clothes.

Anyway, a little before 4:00 PM we headed over to the tour offices for our last tour of the region, into the salt plains, and the lakes in the area.

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