From San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) through the rain and the salt flats to Uyuni (Bolivia)

Chilean Rainy Days

After the dreamy days in the highlands of northern Argentina, we took a bus again and traveled overnight to rainy San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Here you would actually find the driest desert in the world. Rainy is best described as pouring rain. Even for the rainy season, it's a lot - too much. Some hostels are flooded. Bus routes are interrupted. Tours to nearby attractions such as Valle de la Luna or the El Tatio Geysers are temporarily canceled. The clay roads in the small hippie village are more like streams than roads. So. What now?

We make the best of it. Dressed warmly and protected by rain jackets, we explore the actually quite nice and hip San Pedro de Atacama. We even find a small restaurant with gluten-free sandwiches - actually the highlight of the day. Since the desired tours are all canceled as feared, we sit here almost all day - the Wi-Fi is good...

On the second day, things start to look slightly better and actually - the tour to the geysers that was scheduled for 5 am in the morning actually takes place. Not really to Mathias' delight. Something upset his stomach last night and the night mainly took place in / on the toilet - there wasn't much sleep to be had. Nevertheless, we set off in the completely overheated 4x4 truck - up to the geysers at over 4,000 meters. When we arrived at the top, we even had some luck with the weather because it wasn't raining and the fog didn't come in until later. So you can actually see the geysers, take a little walk - if you feel like walking without any sleep and with still a weird stomach - and later there's a fairly rich breakfast. For those who tolerate gluten or have a stomach for it. For us, not so much. Well, whatever.

On the way back, we stop a few times and see some of the local wildlife. Llamas, vicuñas, some geese and flamingos, and the little viscachas, a hare-like animal with a long tail, hopping around here in the rocks.

And that's unfortunately already it with activities here - the afternoon tour to Valle de la Luna was again canceled and since the weather didn't promise any improvement, we booked a tour to Uyuni in Bolivia.

Off to Bolivia

Bolivia was our next destination anyway and since there's not much going on in San Pedro, we left the place and joined a three-day tour that ends in Uyuni (Bolivia). Fully packed - in addition to the regular luggage, you have to bring snacks and water for three days - we set off. First, we took a minibus up to the 4,000-meter pass where the border is located. The road was still closed in the morning due to clean-up work, so we had to wait briefly. With a decent breakfast, the waiting time could be bridged well and soon we were standing in front of the Chilean exit checkpoint, followed by the Bolivian entry office. Here we switched to 4x4 jeeps and were divided into groups together with two Italians, an Italian woman, and Reto from Basel. Our guide and driver Santos briefly explained the daily program to us and off we went on the sometimes quite bumpy ride. The weather was still fine at the first two lagoons (Blanca and Verde). The same goes for the lunch break at the hot springs - the short bath was incredibly awesome! Then unfortunately the rain came here too - and even better: it hailed and snowed. Our windshield wiper gave up, everything ran down the windows inside due to the heat in the car, and so the ride became slower and more precarious. We made two stops at geysers and at Laguna Colorada with the flamingos - but honestly, we didn't see much.

We spent the first night in the small village of Villa Mar. Here we were accommodated in an unexpectedly good six-bed room and could enjoy a really hot shower (for a few Bolivianos). The food was as usual on the tour rather simple, but it tasted good. And Seraina always had a gluten-free option, if necessary.

Day two started with significantly better weather. We visited some volcanic rock formations, Laguna Negra with a bunch of llamas and viscachas, and made a short stop above the Anakonda gorge before heading for lunch. The afternoon consisted of a short visit to San Cristobal, where there is a small market and a beautiful church to see, and the long drive to Uyuni.

Normally, you spend the second night in the salt hotel in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni - but in the rainy season, it's not safe, so you drive to the city to spend the night there.

At 4:45 am, the third and final day starts. We drive out into the salt flats in the darkness to experience the sunrise. The clouds and the rising sun are perfectly reflected in the completely flooded salt flats. In the rainy season, you hardly find a dry spot here - but the reflections are all the more beautiful. And it wasn't raining - which of course made us very happy. At temperatures around five degrees and a light wind, it's quite cold, but the scenery overshadows the feeling of cold. You hardly know where the horizon is and where the top ends and the bottom begins. In daylight, we then go to the salt hotel for breakfast. It's raining again... However, it stops again shortly afterwards, and we drive around in the salt flats a bit to take some funny photos - it's simply part of it!

To conclude the tour, we visit the market in Colchani and the train cemetery outside Uyuni. And then it's already done - we have ourselves taken to the booked hostel and will warm up here, relax, and plan ahead for two days. Let's see what else we can / will do during the Bolivian rainy season.