So after travelling for over a day on buses I arrived in the small village of San Pedro de Atacama in the middle of the dessert in Northern Chile (see photos). Filled with gringos but a welcome break from cities!
The town is the gateway for tours to the amazingly diverse landscapes in the area. I did a couple of tours. One was to the the valley of the moon where I did a 3hr walk (not so easy at 3000m!) and then went on to watch the most incredible sunset over the valley and Andes mountains.
On the second day I did a full day tour to the salt lake of Atacama, where I saw a huge expanse of salt formations covered by a shallow lake inhabited by Flamingos. Then went on to visit some traditional villages before the high plateau lagoons at 4000m! So strange to be in the snow after having been covered in dust from the dessert the day before.
Am now in Arica, a city at the very top of the coast of Chile where I will be getting a bus to La Paz tomorrow! very excited!
