Atacama Desert 🦙🦩🌵

Late in the evening, we took the bus to Santiago, but thank God I won't be staying there long. We then continued right to the airport and from there to the north of Chile. At the airport, I also met our guides for the next few days and 4 exchange students. After another 4 hours on the plane, we landed at 25 degrees in the desert. Finally back to the sun and summer. There, we immediately met the rest of the group and got to know each other. Well, they were all quite a bit younger than me and had all already spent a year in Chile. But anyway, I’m just excited to see something new again. First, we visited the 'Valle de la Luna' and stayed there until sunset. In the evening we went for dinner and then straight to bed, as we had been on the go for almost 24 hours. I shared a room with 4 girls but in a super nice hotel with a comfortable bed right in San Pedro de Atacama. The next day started early again, as there was much to see. First on the agenda was a workshop with an indigenous family belonging to the Lickanantai tribe. We learned a lot about music, building with clay, and the former way of life and wisdom of these tribes. In the afternoon, we had a small hike planned along the cactus valley. In the world’s driest desert, there suddenly was a stream and a small green oasis. A few brave souls even went for a swim, but I only went up to my knees as it gets cold as soon as the sun sets - desert life. When we returned to the parking lot, we suddenly felt the ground shake beneath us. My first earthquake in Chile, and it was a strong one at 6.9 magnitude. After dinner, the day was not yet over as we went stargazing. Here, due to the super dry air, one can observe the night sky very well. Unfortunately, it was just before full moon during our visit, so the night sky didn't impress me much, since I’m spoiled from New Zealand, Indonesia, and home. The next day, we continued with a bike tour through the 'Valle de Catarpe'. The bikes we had had seen better days, and the tour did not overwhelm me as we had to stop every 10 minutes to wait. But in the afternoon, we continued with a walk along a stream, this time with warm water. In this geothermal region, there are naturally warm streams. Of course, we took a little swim there. In the evening, we looked around the markets of San Pedro. For once, we went to bed earlier since we had to get up at 4 AM the next day. We were heading to the geysers at 'El Tatio'. These can only be observed in the morning hours during their eruption, and the journey there was long from San Pedro. If you've already been to Iceland, I must confess that they are less impressive now. The only impressive thing was that their thermal activity ceased as soon as the sun shone directly on them. Afterward, we had breakfast outdoors with an incredibly beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. El Tatio is also the highest geothermal region in the world, over 4000m high, while San Pedro itself is about 3300m. In the evening, we also visited a lagoon at sunset. This lagoon is also home to many flamingos, which made me even happier. The sunset was simply breathtakingly beautiful. We all didn’t know which side to look at first and where to take photos. This was definitely one of my highlights here. After dinner, there was karaoke because it seems one has to do something special on the last night. Yes, I've definitely experienced better and funnier ones. But for the whole group, it was the last evening together after a year in Chile, so there was also a little closing ritual for everyone. I felt a bit out of place then and started packing my backpack. The next morning we all wrote in each other’s memory books and then continued to a valley with differently colored mountains, which was also really beautiful. Lastly, we visited the oldest Catholic church in Chile - built in 1540. Then we had a delicious lunch at a grandma’s house, who also gave us a super nice speech about the area and how hard it is to grow old, provided I understood it all with my Spanish. Afterward, we went to a lagoon, where the others were really saying their final 'goodbye,' while I chatted with a German grandpa who has been traveling through South America in his camper for 12 years. Late at night, we returned to Santiago, and I headed to my family's apartment here. I had 2 days in Santiago ahead of me in a better area of the city, which I even liked. It may not be my favorite city, but I had a good time in Santiago this time. Now I'm looking forward to 2 months of working here in Chile! 🫶🏼