Desert life

After a whole day on the bus, we finally arrived in San Pedro de Atacama, and it must be said that the 24-hour bus ride was much more comfortable than we had imagined. Especially because we could sleep for almost 15 hours.

More comfortable than any economy flight

So we actually arrived in San Pedro de Atacama well rested in the evening, once again we had to find a hostel as the first thing, which was not really difficult and didn't take long.

Therefore, fully rested, the next day we rented a bicycle and a sandboard (exactly like a snowboard) to start our desert adventure in the scorching midday heat.

But the effort and all the sweat paid off! First, we climbed the Pukar de Quitor, a small 'mountain', which we had to conquer on foot. From there, we had a great view of the Atacama Desert, and it was definitely a good place for our snack.

The view from the Pukar de Quitor

A dog also accompanied us all the way up, and you could see that he was more than happy when we gave him some of our water at the top.

Our loyal friend and posing buddy

Afterwards, we continued to the Valle de la Muerte, where we used our sandboards on the dunes. The first attempts were a bit challenging, but by the second or third time, we were getting the hang of it, except for one unintentional somersault 😅. It was a lot of fun, but also very, very exhausting, as we had to climb the huge sand dunes over and over again.

The sand dune that we kept climbing

Ready to go

Afterwards, I went to the highest point of the Valle de la Muerte, a kind of platform, and I had perfect timing because I reached the highest point just in time for the sunset. The view was amazing, and it felt good to see all the tour buses up there, knowing that we did it on our own!

Selfie time

Back at the hostel, we met a lot of nice people again, exchanged stories, inspired each other, and made new friendships. That's the best part of traveling! Among others, we met two French people who had rented a jeep and they took us to the more remote Floating Lagoons the next day. It was an amazing feeling to be able to sit in the water and just float, it made us feel so free! The lagoons also looked incredible, it was another great experience!

However, since the French people were heading to a different place, we tried hitchhiking on the way back, and it worked better than we could have imagined. After only two minutes of hiking, a German couple drove past us and picked us up immediately! It was very interesting to compare our two different ways of traveling - ours with a lot of time but little money, and theirs with a lot of money but little time. Both options have their advantages, but as a young person, I definitely prefer having a lot of time and sacrificing comfort.

The short hike before we got a ride.

Our last evening in San Pedro de Atacama was very special! We drove with the French people into the middle of the desert when it was dark to observe the starry sky. The moment I got out of the car was unique, I had never seen anything like it in my entire life. It seemed as if the sky consisted only of stars! We lay speechless in the sand and admired this wonder of nature, watching shooting stars one after another.

Definitely the perfect conclusion to our time in San Pedro de Atacama. But the next day, our adventure in Bolivia begins with a three-day tour from San Pedro to Uyuni, through the Salar de Uyuni!