Roadtrip Peru, Bolivia & Chili - Part 7
Calama - Thursday 14-09-2023
It turns out that our car hire company “Euro rent a car” has no office at the airport. There are at least ten but ours, no way🤪🤪. Early this day we have already been in touch and agreed to be picked up at the airport. Quiet soon our man appears with our car. We put the suitcases in the boot and take our seats but……. the car does not start. Not even after several attempts 🤪🤪. Assistance is requested and after 20 min of waiting, the car is started with a pair of jumper cables. To our surprise, we drive back to the centre of Calama. Still a bit strange with all the WhatsApp contact we had during our bustrip from San Pedro de Atacama to Calama. At the office we filled the necessary documents and recorded damage of the car. Then wait again because the car is going to the garage to replace the battery. Our patience, after a very tiring day, is sorely tried. Around 6pm we drive to San Pedro de Atacama. It takes a while to find our hotel Moon Atacama. It's in the outskirts of the village of Solor. It's a beautiful room. But when we want to take a well-deserved hot shower, the only thing we find is ice-cold water. Very disappointing after this long day!!!! After a quick shower, we fall asleep dead tired.
San Pedro de Atacama - Friday 15-09-2024
Apparently, we need some sleep. We wake up late. Meanwhile, our shower is repaired and we can rinse off all the sand. We spend the afternoon in San Pedro de Atacama. Walking around, eating empanadas and a beer to wash it all down. We spend some time in as nice bar. Lara drink here her favourite beer “ Patagonia Torres del Paine” A very relaxing day!!!
San Pedro de Atacama - Astronomical tour
In the evening, we have an Astronomical tour. We are taken to the outskirts of San Pedro de Atacama where a garden has been set up and shielded from light influences. Here there are three telescopes, two of which we end up using. The whole story is done in Spanish so apart from Lara's translation, some things escape me 😜😜. But looking through the telescopes very interesting. The sky in the Atacama is truly incredible! We also take some nice photos ourselves. A very nice experience!!!
Valle de la Lune - Saturday 16-09-2023
Today we have also a slow start. We take it easy. Around noon, we drive to Valle de la Lune. It is indeed a real moonscape. Beautiful rock formations, sand dunes and vistas. We drive into the park by car and make hikes at various locations. We both still have heavy legs and going uphill is a real challenge. But we are real bullies and enjoy every step we do!!
At the end of the day we enjoy the sunset. Very beautiful but we also like to take some pictures in the blue hour. But we were not allowed to stay longer because the park closed. Unfortunately, our Spanish was very poor at this moment and we didn't quite understand what the intention was 😜😜. So we stayed. Finally we were escorted to the park gate! Literally kicked out ! 🤦🏻♀️
Ayllu de Quitor - Sunday 17-09-2023
After a quiet morning and a treat from the hostess on delicious empanadas in regarding to a national holiday in Chile, we wanted to leave around noon. BUT: the fucking car won't start.
We contact the rental company and also indicate that we want another car because we can’t trust the car. On the trip we like to make and the deserts we like to cross we like a very good car.
Luckily, we were still in front of our apartment. After some back and forth, we are promised another car and it will arrive in about an hour. As usual, every disadvantage has its advantage. It turns out we now get a real car!! A Pickup Nissan Navara. A beautiful red one too 😜😜. After the necessary paperwork, we finally leave.
The existing plan we changed and we go for an alternative. Some sightseeing in the immediate area. First, we drive to Tulor. Apart from the vast beautiful plains, there is little to see. Next, we drive to Ayllu de Quitor. It's a steep climb to the top but definitely worthwhile. What beautiful nature and views and again a wonderful sunset!!!!!!
Ayllu de Quitor: located about 3 km from San Pedro de Atacama, is a fascinating site with historical significance.
Pukara de Quitor: This massive rock formation serves as a symbol of pre-Inca culture. It was constructed during the 12th century as a fortress to defend against invaders. The Lickanantay fortification blends seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, reflecting the resilient life of the Atacameños.
Ayllus: These are ancestral family-based systems for distributing agricultural land and irrigation channels. Many of these ayllus still exist as indigenous communities. Within San Pedro de Atacama, you’ll find 14 ayllus:
These sites offer a glimpse into the rich history and agricultural practices of the region.
El Tatio - Monday 18-09-2024
We woke up at 4.30am to arrive in El Tatio before sunrise to see the activities of the geysers and a beautiful sunrise. A dark and winding road for about 80 kilometres.
El Tatio, in Kunza or Quechua - means "grandfather crying", is the largest group of geysers in the southern hemisphere and the third largest geothermal field in the world. We're talking more than 80 geysers in one place on a hight of 4320 meters. The water temperature of a geyser can reach 85° Celsius and the jets can reach up to 10 metres!
On our way back, we stopped to see the cacti in La Quebrada de Guatin. Again, gigantic and ancient cacti, at least more than 500 years old. We learned in Salar de Uyuni that a cactus grows 1 cm per year!. So yes... they have been there for a long time.
As you get closer, you can see a stream flowing through the middle of the gorge and hear the sound of running water, which in a place as arid as the Atacama seems like a true miracle!
Right there, starting on the way back, there is Vado Putana, a bofedal (a type of Andes-wetland) with Cerro Colorado in the background as a view. It is breathtaking... beautiful! These are swampy areas typical of the Andean region and extremely important for the diversity of vegetation in dry places. A true oasis in this desert! We also passed the Pueblo de Machuca, famous for its llama kebab!
Lagunas Altiplanicas - Tuesday 19-09-2023
We leave around nine o'clock. Refuelling, collecting our laundry, a police check including a breathalyzer test (Sjak passed with flying colours at nine in the morning 😜🥳) and on road 23 we drive to Piedras Rojas - Lagunas Altiplanicas. On the way, we pass the equator.
After about 1.5 hours we arrive at Lagunas Altiplanicas. When we arrived it turns out we should have bought an entrance ticket in Socaire. Some 28 kilometres back. The gentleman is adamant and cannot be bribed. So we make our alternative tour and drove around by car and made a few wonderful photogenic stops.
After Lagunas Altiplanicas, we drive to Antofagasta. A trip of about 350 km. We drive through desert, salt flats and dry plains. Very varied but all very pristine!!! For a large part, we drive The Pan-American highway. Now we thought this would be a real pleasure to drive. But nothing could be further from the truth. The road surface is fair to poor and over a distance of more than 50 km they are working on the road. This means that everyone gets to continue their route by a parallel unpaved path. So dust!!!! A lot of dust. After about five hours of driving, we arrive in Antofagasta.
