We decided to go to the desert as some backpackers were talking about their stories of the north of Chile and we saw some great photos.
We landed in Calama and then got a bus for 2 hours to San Pedro which is a little town filled with dirt roads, tourists, dogs and with with open air bars with fire pits and live traditional music.
We met Marie a girl on the bus on the way there who lives in the US. We ended up staying with us for 3 night she could also speak fluent spanish and was able to answer all our questions and explain things.
It was great to finally feel some sunshine and warmth but it was still very cold at night.
One morning we woke up to see the Geysiers at 4am and it was -10 (ive never been so cold). The geysiers are water streams flowing underneath which hits hot rock and rises to the surface causing steem.
The altitude at one point was 5000m above sea level and you can definitely notice the difference in the air. You only have to walk fast and you are out of breath.
We ended up doing an awesome observatory night tour and the guide new so much about astronomy, he was a crazy frenchman who had set up the business with his wife. Theyhad the perfect spot as the place in San Pedro is nearlythe clearest sky in the world for viewing the stars. We got to see Saturn, Mars, and other galaxies. He also explained all the constilations. We will now be looking at the sky at night very differently.
We also went to the salt flats in which a pink flamingo colony live. We watched the sunset there which was fantastic. The salt lake we saw was the only one that rises vertically and was more than 400m in depth.
