San Pedro - final day
Trip Start
Aug 06, 2010
1
11
136
Trip End
Dec 20, 2010
Where I stayed
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I go and enquire about the Salt Flats tour but I have read that the strikes are ongoing and that tourists have had stones thrown at their 4WD. I get mixed messages from the tour companies - some will go to the town Uyuni (where I have heard there is a blockade) while others don't and head back to San Pedro. In the end I decide it all sounds a bit dodgy and the best option is to head to northern Boliva first and see if things quiten down in the south region.
I head for lunch with the dutch couple and french guy from the hostal - they are a nice bunch and we all get along really well. Unforutnately after 40 minutes my omelete hasn't shown up so I dash off for my final tour in San Pedro, the Valle de la Luna. (Valley of the Moon). The tour takes us into the desert area where we look at the crazy formations of the desert. It ends with sunset over the desert - the colours are pretty spectacular as the sun sets. Unforunately its not till the very end that I realise the pictures come out a lot better using the sunset feature on my camera so only my last few pictures capture it with any justice.
Everyone on the tour is very friendly although I'm actually the only english speaking person on the tour. Everyone else gets the tour in spanish (even though there are many from europe) and then I get a personal translation in English. There is a group of about 8 italians staying at my hostel that are on the tour too and they pull my into their group shots which is nice.
After the tour it is another mad rush to get my things packed for my bus at 8pm. The bus will take me further north of chile to a place called Arika where I hope to transfer to another bus heading to the city of La Paz. The bus arrives and takes us for an hour to another town called Calama where we then wait another hour and a half for the bus which will take us to Arika. Unfortunately the overnight bus doesn't have flat beds so it will be a long night on seats that only lean back a little.
