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Join us on this amazing adventure...
San Pedro de Atacama – this is our new home for the next two nights. After 1 month spent travelling through Peru and Bolivia, now it’s Chile’s turn.
It was our intention to spend more time in Chile, but time flies and we have to be careful with our expenses (after all this is just 1/12 of our world trip).
When planning how to get to San Pedro de Atacama, we were relieved to find out that one of the main activities offered by companies is the trip from Atacama to Uyuni. We did the opposite route, and perhaps saved a bit of money as we booked with an agency in Bolivia.
But of course Atacama is not only about the trip to Uyuni. There’s so much more, but we decided to spend these next two nights in a very relaxed way, visiting a bit of the village which is a very nice place and has a good atmosphere. We also didn’t take many tours, as Noah needed a break and these two days were very convenient for him.
In Atacama we had to find accommodation. The initial plan was to find a bus immediately to go to Santiago, but firstly the buses take more than 22 hours to get to the capital – Noah is a good kid, but he’s not that tolerant – and secondly the next bus with seats available wouldn’t leave until the next day.
But finding accommodation in San Pedro was not difficult. At the main square people approach you offering shared and private rooms, with or without a private bathroom.
We were tired but decided to sit, search and do it carefully. Our friends Christian and Gloria followed us (or we followed them), while our friend Magdalena waved goodbye to us at the van as she was taking another bus to Santiago.
We sat in one of the restaurants at the main square to have a proper meal, more than 5 hours after our breakfast (Noah had some fruit on the way to Atacama but he, like us, needed a proper meal). We then had time to search for some places online, but the best way was to walk around and see what was available.
After my pasta bolognesa I started searching for places and I found some very affordable, quiet and clean accommodation less than 200 meters from the main square – Eden Atacameno. Luckily there was also room for Christian and Gloria. We went back to get Gloria, Ruth and Noah, and then immediately started searching for a good tour for the day, which was the Valle de la Luna.
This is one of the most symbolic tours from San Pedro de Atacama, which gives you a good glimpse of the geography of the region and how amazing nature can be.
The Valley of the Moon consists mainly of clay and salt. We were told that the salt in the area is of such purity that it can be consumed directly without any treatment.
We stopped several times to see the Tres Marias (some dunes) – purely spectacular topography.
We watched the sun set from the viewpoint known as Cabeza de Coyote (Coyote Head). From there a lot of tourists crowded on the edge of the cliffs to watch the changing colors in the valley at sunset. When the sun disappears it is interesting to take a look towards the mountains that take on a pinky-purple shade … How wonderful the world we live in is.
We only stayed in Atacama for two nights, as afterwards we were travelling to the capital, Santiago. But we certainly enjoyed the good atmosphere in the village, and were left with the feeling that we needed to come back in the future and explore this part of Chile further.
Next stop, Santiago!