Meat, Malbec, and Mountains: 15-Mar a.m.-- Geysers de Tatio

It is exceedingly difficult to explore all that San Pedro de Atacama has to offer without a car, hence tours are necessary. We signed up for 2 tours in one day. The first was Geysers de Tatio which begins at 4:00 a.m. Unfortunately for me, I ate some bad meat on Monday night and woke up at 1:00 am drenched in sweat. I ate some pepto, but ultimately decided that it would be better to purge my system of its assailant than to try to keep it in. I went back to sleep close to 2:00 am thinking that I would likely not make the morning tour that ventures up to 4700m on no sleep and a sour stomach. But, when the alarms went off at 3:30 am, I rallied.

The tour starts at 4:00 am with a 2-hour drive. The guide recommended that we sleep, but that notion seemed ridiculous in the uncomfortable seats and the bumpy roads. The driver cranked the heat and I was wondering if I made the right decision to go. I was committed to it in any case. We arrived at 6:00 a.m. The reason for starting early is that the geyesers are only active in the morning.

Morning at the geysers; Volcan Tatio overshadows the valley

We stepped off the mini bus under clear skies with temperatures around -6C. I was the only one who appreciated the weather and indeed was the only one dressed properly and comfortable. The guide told us that Tatio is the the 3rd largest geyser area in the world; Yellowstone is #1 and somewhere in Iceland is #2. The Volcano Tatio named for llores de abuela (grandmother´s tears) presides over the valley. The valley resembles a large crater and is perched at 4,321 meters or about the altitude of the summit of Mt Ranier.

Clad in my puffy jacket and skirt; I was the only one who appreciated the -6C temps

The geysers themselves really werent all that interesting. Most erupt every few minutes and only eject small amounts of boiling water less than 1 meter.

Showing off the morning beverage- cocoa leaf tea

Breakfast was included in the price of the tour. The beverage of choice: Matè de Cocoa leaves which help with the altitude.

The area also featured some hot springs. So at 8:00 a.m at 4,321 meters, I took a bath. Getting in was easy, but getting out was tougher. There were no changing rooms, so I had to improvise among the throngs of people snapping pics.

Hot springs at 4321 meters

For me, the most interesting part of the trip was the scenery on the way back to town featuring landscapes of volcanoes, oases, cacti, and lots of wildlife. We saw vicuñas and rare birds such as the Tawa Pequeña.