Deserts are not just about sand!

We have now had three very full days in the Atacama desert staying at the Hotel Kimal in San Pedro de Atacama.  The town itself is very small and consists of one main street, a plaza, church, small museum but thankfully lots of bars and restaurants.  Our first day was spent at Death Valley and then watching the sun set over Moon Valley (pictured aside). 

The second day was spent visiting the Salt Flats and the Reserva National 'Los Flamencos'.  Flamingos are a particular favourite of RMs and he happily snapped away lots of pictures which HJ has now deleted.  Actually, there were few birds to be seen as it is nesting time.  The next stop was at Lagunas Miscantiy and Miiniques.  The views were stunning with the Andes in the background.  The lakes are formed by snow melt from the Volcanoes that give the lakes their names.  All these trips required time spent in pretty uncomfortable buses travelling on a cross between dead straight, soft road and very bumpy, mountain chicanes.

The third day began with a 4am start to visit the Geysers El Tatio which are at their best between 6am and 8am (unlike us)!  The two hour trip was worth it as the geysers peformed admirably.  We declined the offer to strip off in the minus 3 degrees to bathe in the 35 degree thermal pool.  We stopped off in a small village on the way back and tried llama meat skewers which are very healthy and good for cholesterol.

We rewarded ourselves each night with a wonderful meal in the restaurant below.  It had an open roof and warm fire as in the evenings the temperatures really drop.  Peru beckons later today.