Our final day in the desert involved a trip to see some ferociously active geysirs pumping out steam at industrial noise levels (pic). There were no showers or washing machines in the hostel last night, so this was the nearest alternative, and did two jobs at once.
There was more driving along very bumpy desert roads. Luckily, after yesterday's dramas with failing starter motors, our driver José – who also serves as cook, guide, and alarm call to the French guy in our group – is in addition a useful mechanic. He only had to bodge the starter motor once.
There was more astounding landscape (pic). At some point, my umbrella must have come adrift from my rucksack on top of the car, so I am now without rain protection. But as some parts of the Atacama Desert here have had rain only once in the last 400 years (1971, it was), it's not as problematic as it might have been.
Crossing the border from Bolivia into Chile felt like coming forward a century, with things such as tarmac, road signs, toilet paper, and prices on display in shops. And drinkable wine.
I'm staying in San Pedro de Atacama, just over the border, and did an evening tour to see some of the spectacular scenery round the town. At one point this involved walking through a cave (pic). It's amazing how, in the darkness, your eyes can fool you into thinking that a rock shape is actually a grotesque face.
We ended up perched on a ridge overlooking Moon Valley (pic) watching the sunset. It was lovely: very relaxing and very red. Rather like the glass of Chilean Carménère I had in the hostel in the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment