Week 38: Valparaiso, San Pedro de Atacama; Chile
Monday 10/3:
We woke up in Valparaiso and ate breakfast. We decided to stay another night but we moved to another hostel. After packing we took a bus and then walked up one of the many stairways through the hills of Valparaiso to our hostel. It has been full all weekend but when we arrived there were only a few other people there and we had a whole dorm room to ourselves. There was also a nice balcony and big tv in the living area. We set off walking around and checking out some street art and tourist attractions. We returned to make a snack of guacamole and fruit salad with homemade tortilla chips. That night we watched Netflix on a big hostel tv , worked on Instagram photos, and ate stuffed squash for dinner. 

10/4: 

I booked a flight from Santiago for the following day so we decided to spend one more day in Valparaiso. We slept in, then hung out around the hostel working on blog posts and such. We found out about a great free concert in the evening. We walked to Pablo Nerudo’s house. He’s a famous poet and politician from Chile. It was close to ten dollars per person to enter and it wasn’t that cool. We also visited a museum about a cartoonist named Lukas. We found a bus back and finally found a cheap restaurant where we ate two Italiano (topped with tomatoes, guacamole, and mayonnaise) hot dogs each. Then picked up some white wine and pineapple ice cream before walking back to our hostel. We attempted to make a famous Chilean drink called terremoto (earthquake) but were missing an ingredient or two. We relaxed a bit and then went out for a free outdoor concert which featured an orchestra and a band that was a mix between rock and Andean folk music. It was quite entertaining and in a great setting with tons of locals. We stayed for the concert and then walked back among a huge crowd of people. We ate some leftover fruit salad and then headed to bed. 

10/5:

The next morning we woke up early and left the hostel by seven. We trudged down the hill and caught a bus that took us close to the bus station. From there we caught a bus to Santiago within two minutes. When we arrived in Santiago we caught a shuttle to the airport after thirty minutes. We were checked in and waiting with two hours to spare. The flight had beautiful views of snow covered mountains turning into desert. After a two hour flight (much better than the 20+hour bus ride) we landed in Calama, a desert town near a huge copper mine. We took a taxi into town, ate some fried chicken, and then waited for a bus. The bus to San Pedro de Atacama took an hour or two but the ride was beautiful. Once we arrived we hiked awhile to a hostel that offers camping. We found a good spot and were even offered a mattress to put under our tent (a lifesaver on the rocky desert sand). We walked the town and asked about tours, found an atm, and then went to dinner at a nice place nearby. We were worn out after a long day and headed to bed. 

10/6: 

We slept in a little to avoid the cold desert night but we were soon greeted by the hot desert day. We bought some groceries and ate cereal, yogurt, kiwis, and coffee for breakfast. Then we set off hiking to some ancient ruins just outside of town. It was very hot and dry but a beautiful hike. We walked through the ruins and then to the top of a hill next to it. We ate tuna and crackers for lunch at the top. We hiked back down and relaxed in the shade. After signing up for the Moon Valley tour that afternoon we made another trip into town. We headed to the tour agency at four and were soon driving through other worldly landscapes. We stopped at several different places including a field with rocks carved by sand and wind, a huge sand dune, a cave, and a great lookout point for sunset. We met some nice girls from America and had great tour guides. After our tour we ate Mac and cheese in our hostel. It tasted like fruit loops for some reason so we bought some ramen noodles and eggs to eat instead. I drank wine instead of water and started feeling bad so I went to bed. 

10/7:

We relaxed a bit the next morning and I attempted to rehydrate and adjust to the elevation and dry climate. We ate cheese omelette for breakfast. We went to town and signed up for a tour that afternoon to the seven altiplano lakes. We found an open air restaurant with a three course meal for $5 per person. We headed to the agency and found that nearly everyone else on our bus was Brazilian. After driving for an hour we entered the salt flats. They were beautiful on their own but had the most amazing lakes scattered throughout. Apparently they were only discovered in the last five years. The water was so blue but extremely salty. We were allowed to swim in two of the lagoons. They have five times the saltiness of the ocean, and like the Dead Sea, everyone floats. The water was cold and it was windy but after swimming we were completely dry, though covered in salt crystals, in a matter of minutes. At the end of the tour we were given snacks and Pisco sours (Pisco is the national alcohol of Chile and Peru and is a strong liquor made from grapes, then mixed with sugar, lime juice, and generally egg whites). We signed up for the geyser tour the next morning and bought groceries on the way back. We ate ramen with eggs, peas, and leftover chicken. Chile is by far the most expensive country we’ve visited, especially the food and lodging. Because we spent a fortune on tours we did our best to eat cheaply and get our calories from beer and wine, the only things cheap in Chile. It was now Friday and the campsite filled up. I’m talking tents stacked wall to wall. Some people in the campsite partied loudly until about four in the morning. This was frustrating as we had to be ready for the shuttle at 5 am the next morning.  

10/8: 

After a sleepless night we put on our warmest clothes, which were shorts because our jeans were being washed (I know we should have thought that one through). We huddled in our sleeping bag on the side of the road and looked at some amazing stars. We hopped in the van/bus with more Brazilians and were soon back to sleep. We arrived before sunrise, paid the entrance fee, and parked near the geysers. While they prepared breakfast I went running through the below freezing temperature snapping pictures amongst the most amazing geysers. There are over 80 in the area and are the third best in the world after Yellowstone and somewhere in Siberia. They’re also some of the highest in the world at over 13,000 feet. I ran back to the van, grabbed a coffee and sandwich, and huddled under the sleeping bag with Sarahí. The sun began to rise so we headed back into the geyser field for some amazing pictures. It was truly amazing to walk through clouds of steam, hear the hissing and bubbling geysers, and watch the sun creep over the mountaintop. There’s a hot spring on site where swimming is allowed. I was excited and hopped in. Unfortunately it was pretty cold except for one area where the boiling geyser water flowed in and threatened to scald your skin. I didn’t stay for long and soon we were back in the van. We passed some amazing scenery and animals like the vicuña (Andean camel) and flamingoes. We stopped in a tiny town were were tried lama meat skewers (quite tasty) before heading back. That afternoon we made sandwiches and attempted to nap but it was too hot. We tried to figure out our Bolivian visa and Uyuni tour and ran around all afternoon trying to get everything done. We decided to stay in town the next day because we didn’t quite have everything ready. We ate a delicious and massive dinner that wasn’t too expensive. Then we went sandboarding at night. It was a lot of fun with lights and a DJ at the bottom of a 300 foot sand dune.  It was a bit difficult to get the hang of but we had a great time. We came back to the town around 1 am and then headed to a party in the desert. There was live music, a bonfire, and incredible stars. We left after awhile and made it to bed by 4 or 5 am, utterly exhausted. 

10/9:

We slept in till eleven and the. Made eggs with ham, cheese and chard. We hung out in camp before going to town to finish arranging our entry to Bolivia. It took a lot of the day but eventually we had everything ready. Sarahi went to the meteorite museum. We ate sandwiches and worked on blog posts but had awful wifi. We ate leftovers from the restaurant the night before. Then we packed and went to bed early. 
It was a phenomenal week. Though Chile is a bit expensive, we saw and did so much in just a few days. Check out next weeks post about our continued trip through the desert to the Uyuni salt flats!