Sunday – Geisers de Tatio y Valle de La Luna
The best day of the trip began promptly at 3:30am when our alarms went off so that we could be ready for our tour to the Geisers (geysers) de Tatio. Our tour guide Manuel picked us up and then went to the travel agency and threw rocks on the roof so that they would open the door for him. That is how I knew it was going to be an unforgettable day.
The ride was incredibly bumpy, so sleeping was hardly an option, though I gave it a valiant effort. Manuel gave us coca leaves (“La hoja de coca no es droga”—graphic T-shirt from San Pedro) to prevent altitude sickness.
The steam of the geysers are seen best in the morning, so although we were absolutely freezing (even with my beloved llama hat), vale la pena. Manuel told us not to touch the water or we would boil ourselves. He also said that the best pictures would be at sunrise—which was definitely true. The geysers were an incredible experience.
Random fact: 8% of the world’s geysers are in Chile.
The best day of the trip began promptly at 3:30am when our alarms went off so that we could be ready for our tour to the Geisers (geysers) de Tatio. Our tour guide Manuel picked us up and then went to the travel agency and threw rocks on the roof so that they would open the door for him. That is how I knew it was going to be an unforgettable day.
The ride was incredibly bumpy, so sleeping was hardly an option, though I gave it a valiant effort. Manuel gave us coca leaves (“La hoja de coca no es droga”—graphic T-shirt from San Pedro) to prevent altitude sickness.
The steam of the geysers are seen best in the morning, so although we were absolutely freezing (even with my beloved llama hat), vale la pena. Manuel told us not to touch the water or we would boil ourselves. He also said that the best pictures would be at sunrise—which was definitely true. The geysers were an incredible experience.
Random fact: 8% of the world’s geysers are in Chile.
The next part of our tour was visiting the termas (natural hot spring…which was not as hot as we had hoped). Even though it was kinda gooey and there were plants floating around in it, Jess and I braved it (you only live once) for about 5 minutes, at which point we decided we were done. Changing out of our swimsuits into dry clothes was both a chilly and challenging experience. I brought my travel towel, which is very small, so another tourist took pity on me and held up his beach towel so that I could change. Nice gesture, but I definitely felt awkward even though Jess attested to the fact that he didn’t peek.
The ride to our next stop was basically a safari in the Atacamenan desert. We saw perdices (quail), more flamencos and vicuñas…and a lot of llamas. Manuel kept stopping the van so we could disembark and take pictures. We crossed some small brooks in the van as well—definitely felt like an extreme trip in the wilderness. Most of the scenery was incredibly dry, but we did see a green oasis or two.
Our last stop of the day on this tour was to the town of Machaca: population 4. Manuel said that fact twice, so Jess and I are sure we didn’t misunderstand him. Most of the people from the town have left to get an education…but it still exists as a spot to stop for tour groups. Also, they wanted to film part of the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace there, but the town resisted because they didn’t want to be portrayed as Bolivia.
There, we saw yet another little church and tried llama meat—both in an empanada (pino de llama) and an antichucho (kabob). Kinda chewy, but otherwise good.
We arrived back to our hostal for lunch, where we were faced with our bean dilemma. We bought porotos to eat with noodles, tomatos, and sautéed onions…but didn’t realize that the beans need to soak in water the night before and be cooked for an hour. Needless to say, lunch was not the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten…and we had planned on eating the leftovers for dinner.
We ventured once again into town for ice cream. I got my favorite flavor—lucuma, which is a Chilean fruit—because I don’t have much time left to enjoy it! We sat by a tree next to our café, marveling at how much we’d already seen that day and trying to stay awake. Had we not been so lazy, we discussed how we could have easily robbed the German tourists sitting near us (who were extremely careless with their bags), which would fund a trip to Bolivia (that morning we had only been 20 kilometers away—if only crossing a border was that easy).
There, we saw yet another little church and tried llama meat—both in an empanada (pino de llama) and an antichucho (kabob). Kinda chewy, but otherwise good.
We arrived back to our hostal for lunch, where we were faced with our bean dilemma. We bought porotos to eat with noodles, tomatos, and sautéed onions…but didn’t realize that the beans need to soak in water the night before and be cooked for an hour. Needless to say, lunch was not the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten…and we had planned on eating the leftovers for dinner.
We ventured once again into town for ice cream. I got my favorite flavor—lucuma, which is a Chilean fruit—because I don’t have much time left to enjoy it! We sat by a tree next to our café, marveling at how much we’d already seen that day and trying to stay awake. Had we not been so lazy, we discussed how we could have easily robbed the German tourists sitting near us (who were extremely careless with their bags), which would fund a trip to Bolivia (that morning we had only been 20 kilometers away—if only crossing a border was that easy).
Around 4 we set out on another tour that would eventually take us to Valle de la Luna for the sunset. We had the best tour guide, Raul, who we affectionately called our “little man” or “papi” because he took such good care of us throughout the entire tour. He seemed to really like us, probably because we actually paid attention to him and asked questions.
First we went to Valle de Marte (Mars Valley), which is also called Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). Its first name, Valle de Marte, is because it honestly looks like it’s from another planet, what with the reddish rock. Valle de la Muerte is a mistake of pronunciation—Gustavo Le Paige (who was important for some reason or another) couldn’t pronounce “de Marte” correctly, being French. But, due to his prestigious influence, the valley is now often called “Valle de la Muerte.” The amazing views definitely energized us.
Next stop was another mirador (lookout spot), which was even more amazing. Once again, I had to question if I was still on planet earth because the panorama was so otherworldly. Our little man told us this was the best spot for pictures—definitely true.
First we went to Valle de Marte (Mars Valley), which is also called Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). Its first name, Valle de Marte, is because it honestly looks like it’s from another planet, what with the reddish rock. Valle de la Muerte is a mistake of pronunciation—Gustavo Le Paige (who was important for some reason or another) couldn’t pronounce “de Marte” correctly, being French. But, due to his prestigious influence, the valley is now often called “Valle de la Muerte.” The amazing views definitely energized us.
Next stop was another mirador (lookout spot), which was even more amazing. Once again, I had to question if I was still on planet earth because the panorama was so otherworldly. Our little man told us this was the best spot for pictures—definitely true.
We also got to explore caves made entirely out of salt. This was quite an adventure, especially for the woman in our group who wore (goodness knows why) wedge sandals. Our little man lead the way with a lantern and told us to duck our heads and 
“tengan cuidado” (be careful) because the salt formations are sharp.
“tengan cuidado” (be careful) because the salt formations are sharp.
Next stop was the 3 Marias, which are natural salt formations that look like the outlines of women—two of them praying and one of them sitting. They had another 
name before Gustavo Le Paige came along…darn Frenchman. Unfortunately, one of the formations was knocked over by a tourist a few years ago when they gave the Maria a hug for a picture…darn tourists. (I, however, am not a tourist—my host parents say I’m a viñamarina!) So, Jess and I took turns being the third Maria.
Another rock formation looked like a dinosaur, so of course we had to imitate that, too.
Near these formations was an old salt mine and a few little miners’ houses that were basically in ruins. In the salt mine, I pretended to lick the rock wall—maybe Raul saw me because he chipped some salt off of the wall and handed it to us to try.
name before Gustavo Le Paige came along…darn Frenchman. Unfortunately, one of the formations was knocked over by a tourist a few years ago when they gave the Maria a hug for a picture…darn tourists. (I, however, am not a tourist—my host parents say I’m a viñamarina!) So, Jess and I took turns being the third Maria.Another rock formation looked like a dinosaur, so of course we had to imitate that, too.
Near these formations was an old salt mine and a few little miners’ houses that were basically in ruins. In the salt mine, I pretended to lick the rock wall—maybe Raul saw me because he chipped some salt off of the wall and handed it to us to try.
Our final stop was in the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) to the Gran Duna (big dune)—which was exactly that; it was the largest dune I have ever seen in my life and can ever expect to see again.
We trekked up to the top of a hill (which was do-able only because the elevation is a little lower in the valley) and then walked along a natural wall to a mirador to watch the sunset. What a day—we started with the sunrise at the geysers and ended it with the sunset on the Gran Duna.
After making a few sand angels on the Gran Duna, we went back to the van to return to San Pedro.
After making a few sand angels on the Gran Duna, we went back to the van to return to San Pedro.
Even thinking about our porotos made us sick, so we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at a restaurant. Being foreigners (consensus was: Jess is clearly from the USA and I’m clearly from Australia), we were prime targets for the people who stand outside of restaurants to lure customers with the promise of free pisco sour (Are you looking for dinner? Drinks? A boyfriend?). San Pedro is expensive when it comes to food—Jess and I ordered 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, a bowl of tomato soup, and French Fries (the waiter laughed at us, especially since we even asked for Ketchup, which is a somewhat awkward request in Chile). Our dinner total came to almost $20. However, they were massive grilled cheese sandwiches and a huge bowl of soup. We forget that we’re accustomed to only eating bread with jam for once, and couldn’t eat it all.
After such a long but incredible day, we crashed as soon as we made it back to the hostel.
Monday – Chao, San Pedro!
Sleeping in was a marvelous idea. Since we knew we wouldn’t get a chance to eat much during the day due to all the traveling we’d have to do (reverse the process of buses, planes, and more buses), we decided to eat a huge breakfast. Toasted hallulla (most common bread in Chile) with bananas and peanut butter that we found in the hostel (BIG treat because it’s super expensive), as well as some yogurt for Jess and ice cream for me—QUE RICO. We checked out but were allowed to store our bags at the hostel while we accomplished our 3 goals for the day: 1) Visit the cemetery, 2) Visit the church, and 3) Walk through las artesanias (little bazaars). The cemeteries in Chile are far from depressing—they are so colorful and have an almost c
heerful atmosphere. The church was also quaintly beautiful—we recognized the Cuzqueno style (thanks, Salomo!) of the suffering Christ with indigenous characteristics (see—I AM studying here!) And of course, the artesanias are always fun to walk through. We finished our list early, so sat in the shade in the plaza.
After such a long but incredible day, we crashed as soon as we made it back to the hostel.
Monday – Chao, San Pedro!
Sleeping in was a marvelous idea. Since we knew we wouldn’t get a chance to eat much during the day due to all the traveling we’d have to do (reverse the process of buses, planes, and more buses), we decided to eat a huge breakfast. Toasted hallulla (most common bread in Chile) with bananas and peanut butter that we found in the hostel (BIG treat because it’s super expensive), as well as some yogurt for Jess and ice cream for me—QUE RICO. We checked out but were allowed to store our bags at the hostel while we accomplished our 3 goals for the day: 1) Visit the cemetery, 2) Visit the church, and 3) Walk through las artesanias (little bazaars). The cemeteries in Chile are far from depressing—they are so colorful and have an almost c
heerful atmosphere. The church was also quaintly beautiful—we recognized the Cuzqueno style (thanks, Salomo!) of the suffering Christ with indigenous characteristics (see—I AM studying here!) And of course, the artesanias are always fun to walk through. We finished our list early, so sat in the shade in the plaza. 
After that, we picked up our bags and went to the bus station. While we waited, we bought mote con huesillo, which I absolutely am obsessed with though it sounds strange. To make it, you cook barley and then fill a glass about 1/5 full with it. You soak dried peaches (huesillos) in water overnight to get rid of the dehydrating chemical, and then cook them in water on the stove with cinnamon (canela) and sugar. Cool this mixture, and then put a few of the peaches on top of the barley and top it off with the water from the pan. It is absolutely sweet, delicious, refreshing, and surprisingly filling.
The rest of the day was travel (the longest line EVER at the airport) and studying for my history test the next day.
I honestly cannot express how much I loved San Pedro de Atacama. Of all the trips I’ve taken in Chile, it was probably the most difficult travel and climate-wise, but it was also the most unique trip and hands down one of the best places I have ever traveled. My advice to you? If you ever find yourself in Chile, GO TO SAN PEDRO—VALE LA PENA!!!!
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