Friday 31st March 2017
5am start for what expected to be an unpleasant 13 hour journey
(on Terry’s birthday). As we left the
hotel, the revellers were still staggering back from the nightclubs down the
road. Feeling old… Absolutely tipped it down with rain, with a bow-wave off the
side of the minibus. Bit of aquaplaning here and there. Did not bode well.
As we left Salta and started to rise up the mountains, the heavy
rain turned into mist and finally the sun came out.
The journey was one of the best trips I’ve
ever had. Firstly weird huge cacti
formations coming out of the misty mountains, then through gorges similar to
the Grand Canyon. 
Up and Up to the border with Chile, reaching a height above sea level of
4170 metres.
The Argentinian side of the Andes was craggy, with multi-coloured sands
which would put Alum Chime to shame. The Chilean side suddenly became smoother
but with tuft of grasses, lichen and small shrubs. We came across various groups of llama,
alpaca and vicuña, most of which were wandering free. Every twist and turn
gave a panoramic scene with camera batteries taking a hammering. We eventually reached a maximum height as recorded by our altitude app of 4869 metres and it was felt by all. We then started descending, until we arrived at San Pedro de Atacama around 3pm and found the Kimal hotel. San Pedro is a real backpackers paradise – located in the altoplanic Atacama desert, a flat area between two sets of mountains. It has dusty unmade streets, lots of small stores, bars and restaurants, with tour places flogging day tours and extreme sports. We had a late lunch in the hotel, Iain and I sharing a club sandwich, washed down of course with cold beers. Then Iain sorted the millions of photographs whilst I went for a full body massage lasting 1.5 hours. One of the best I’ve ever had and sorted out all the knotty bits from travelling over a month. Then I went with the team to sort out some money exchanges at the cambio – Argentinian Pesos and Bolivian Pesos for some sterling and euro notes, which they accepted. We also had a quick wander around town (didn’t take long!), a visit to the Church/convent, and admired the adobe walls of the buildings. These are like the old-fashioned wattle and daub walls, and unfortunately get washed off during the heavy rains in Jan/Feb (about one to two weeks’ worth, which is the total for the year). So they need constant repairs. Back for dinner, with Iain not feeling too great, so he didn’t attend. Possibly heat stroke, but definite dodgy tummy. In sympathy I had a baked trout with roasted vegetables, washed down with a dry white Chilean wine. Terry supplied beers to celebrate his birthday. Turned out to be an excellent day after all !
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