I’m definitely grateful for the fact that in Latin America the system with hotels is that you only pay when you leave. I hadn’t had the time or energy to look for somewhere to change money when I got off the train from Bolivia. So, in the morning (25th January) after a quick trip to the tourist office, I found a money changer and got some Chilean pesos. I could thus pay the hotel, check out, and head to the bus terminal to look for transport to my next (and much deserved) “backpacker hangout”: San Pedro de Atacama, 80 km away.
The Tramaca bus was the one I’d been recommended to get, and I reached the terminal just in time to catch it – it was certainly more luxurious than most buses I’ve been on recently. On board I decided that I should start a course of antibiotics to take care of whatever has been making my guts non-functional. I am carrying with me 2 “preemptive” courses of Ciprofloxacin that I managed to get from a doctor friend before leaving the UK.
Soon after midday I arrived in San Pedro, an oasis village surrounded by attractive desert scenery. I checked into the Residencial Florida where I shared a room with an Australian called Dave, and a Canadian called Don.
Still feeling weak from lack of food I had a siesta and then headed out to see the little museum. Then I enquired about about an outing to the nearby “Valle de la Luna” (another Valley of the Moon) and was told that I could join a tour that was just leaving to enjoy the late afternoon sun.
On the way the jeep stopped at a salt mine (a big hole with a ladder leading down) and we were shown some raw salt. Each person was then given a piece:
From the salt mine we headed past more desert scenery – the Atacama is the driest desert on the planet and there is a definite shortage of green in this part of the world – like a total absence!!
Though attractive, Valle de la Luna turned out not to be that special when we arrived. Then again, as someone who has lived and worked in the middle of the Sahara Desert for 2 years it’s harder to impress me with desert landforms than the typical visitor to San Pedro. It was essentially some rocky outcrops, with a dune or two, all nicely lit as the sun dipped to the horizon.
Once the sun was setting we all piled into the gold coloured jeep and headed back to San Pedro, where I had an early night.
pobre de tus intestinos?!!!