Day 77- Desert landing
January 31 - Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
We drove back to Santiago, dropped the rental car, which was easier said than done. We came up on the airport from the backside from the park, which had no signage, and we ended up circling the airport with no way to get off to get to the airport. Finally we saw a sign for the rental company, and while it wasn't at the airport, we thought it was close enough. We tried to drop the car off and people waved us through but when we asked for a ride back the airport, it was clear we were at the wrong place. One of the guys that worked there kindly got in the driver's seat of the car, and drove us and the rental car to the right spot at the airport. WHEW.
We got on the plane headed for Calama, Chile, which was approximately a 2 hr flight north (CHILE IS SO LONG!) As soon as we arrived, we took a transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, the town we'd be stationed for a few days. The drive was beautiful and also bizarre. The place is flat desert, surrounded by mountains. The area is so flat that you wouldn't even know if you drove off the road. The roads are scattered with many memorials for those who have been killed along these roads, some extremely ornate, and also extremely sad. Apparently it is the driest desert in the world, which later I'd find unbelievable as we got a lot of rain while there. It also is supposed to have the clearest skies in the world for star-gazing, and I had my heart set on going to one of the major observatories in the area. We didn't know it at the time, but of course the next few days would be extremely cloudy as well.
We got dropped right at our hostel. The hostel was pretty cool, claiming eco-friendly. We checked out town and grabbed some groceries. A guy we had met a few weeks prior had given us the name of a lady who arranged tours and had good prices. A few minutes after messaging her on whatsapp, Nancy was at the door of our hostel, and we were discussing tour options. We opted to leave the next morning with a day-long tour to some of the nearby sights. Off to bed!
We drove back to Santiago, dropped the rental car, which was easier said than done. We came up on the airport from the backside from the park, which had no signage, and we ended up circling the airport with no way to get off to get to the airport. Finally we saw a sign for the rental company, and while it wasn't at the airport, we thought it was close enough. We tried to drop the car off and people waved us through but when we asked for a ride back the airport, it was clear we were at the wrong place. One of the guys that worked there kindly got in the driver's seat of the car, and drove us and the rental car to the right spot at the airport. WHEW.
We got on the plane headed for Calama, Chile, which was approximately a 2 hr flight north (CHILE IS SO LONG!) As soon as we arrived, we took a transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, the town we'd be stationed for a few days. The drive was beautiful and also bizarre. The place is flat desert, surrounded by mountains. The area is so flat that you wouldn't even know if you drove off the road. The roads are scattered with many memorials for those who have been killed along these roads, some extremely ornate, and also extremely sad. Apparently it is the driest desert in the world, which later I'd find unbelievable as we got a lot of rain while there. It also is supposed to have the clearest skies in the world for star-gazing, and I had my heart set on going to one of the major observatories in the area. We didn't know it at the time, but of course the next few days would be extremely cloudy as well.
We got dropped right at our hostel. The hostel was pretty cool, claiming eco-friendly. We checked out town and grabbed some groceries. A guy we had met a few weeks prior had given us the name of a lady who arranged tours and had good prices. A few minutes after messaging her on whatsapp, Nancy was at the door of our hostel, and we were discussing tour options. We opted to leave the next morning with a day-long tour to some of the nearby sights. Off to bed!
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