10 Feb: San Pedro de Atacama (CHI).
Gosh, that alarm going off at 0430 local time hurt. We're 5 hours ahead of Seattle, slept little on the plane & didn't get to bed until late. But we had to go meet our guide to watch the sunrise at El Tatio, the highest geyser field in the world at 14000+ feet.
The sky was full of stars until we crossed the cloud line at roughly 12000 feet. The 2 hour drive was all dirt road so pretty bumpy with no lights. A true adventure. Glad someone else was driving even if Rocco, our guide, thought stop signs were optional being from Italy and all.
Our intrepid efforts were rewarded with an epic sunrise over the Andes. Rocco picked a spot that was pretty quiet while all of the bigger vehicles went to the other side of the park. It was a balmy -1C so I chose to jump into the thermal pool after the sunrise. Seems crazy but I expected it to be colder!
That said, when you get out of the car to walk around at that altitude, you feel it. I didn't get sick but I did feel lightheaded. The geysers don't have the power of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, but it was still an impressive sight. We saw vicuñas roaming the area, which was an added bonus.
We had some brekkie and Rocco wanted to show us a more remote geyser field that is closed to the public (or at least the signs saying 'peligro' made me wonder). "Mud Geyser" lived up to its name. Beautiful, remote and muddy.
On the way back, we saw some llamas, local birds & flamingos walking around. We grabbed lunch, rested a bit, and then hit Salar de Atacama and Chaxa Lagoon for some more wildlife watching. 3 different types of flamingos were out flying around. They are differentiated by color.
Then we had a flashback to Australia when a herd of sheep randomly crossed the road in front of us. We also stopped by a neighboring village, which had a historic church with many artifacts brought over from Spain.
The weather was crappy in the evening for the 2nd night in a row, which was putting our visit to Valle de la Luna in jeopardy. This location was the main reason we ventured to Atacama! I suggested to the guys that since the morning weather has been clear that maybe we should go against convention & try for sunrise.
Rocco & Alex thought it was worth a shot so they agreed. After dinner, we ventured back & I stayed up way too late reading a book "I Am Pilgrim". Let's hope the lack of sleep & sunrise at Valle de la Luna work out for us on Wednesday!
The sky was full of stars until we crossed the cloud line at roughly 12000 feet. The 2 hour drive was all dirt road so pretty bumpy with no lights. A true adventure. Glad someone else was driving even if Rocco, our guide, thought stop signs were optional being from Italy and all.
Our intrepid efforts were rewarded with an epic sunrise over the Andes. Rocco picked a spot that was pretty quiet while all of the bigger vehicles went to the other side of the park. It was a balmy -1C so I chose to jump into the thermal pool after the sunrise. Seems crazy but I expected it to be colder!
That said, when you get out of the car to walk around at that altitude, you feel it. I didn't get sick but I did feel lightheaded. The geysers don't have the power of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, but it was still an impressive sight. We saw vicuñas roaming the area, which was an added bonus.
We had some brekkie and Rocco wanted to show us a more remote geyser field that is closed to the public (or at least the signs saying 'peligro' made me wonder). "Mud Geyser" lived up to its name. Beautiful, remote and muddy.
On the way back, we saw some llamas, local birds & flamingos walking around. We grabbed lunch, rested a bit, and then hit Salar de Atacama and Chaxa Lagoon for some more wildlife watching. 3 different types of flamingos were out flying around. They are differentiated by color.
Then we had a flashback to Australia when a herd of sheep randomly crossed the road in front of us. We also stopped by a neighboring village, which had a historic church with many artifacts brought over from Spain.
The weather was crappy in the evening for the 2nd night in a row, which was putting our visit to Valle de la Luna in jeopardy. This location was the main reason we ventured to Atacama! I suggested to the guys that since the morning weather has been clear that maybe we should go against convention & try for sunrise.
Rocco & Alex thought it was worth a shot so they agreed. After dinner, we ventured back & I stayed up way too late reading a book "I Am Pilgrim". Let's hope the lack of sleep & sunrise at Valle de la Luna work out for us on Wednesday!