Day 3: El Tatio Geysers, Thermal Springs, And Land Of The Cacti

I was just hitting my REM when the alarm went off at 3:30am. Like a zombie I walked outside with one eye open to our shared restroom and brushed my teeth. That was the extent of my preparation for our big day to El Tatio, the world's 3rd largest geyser field after Yellowstone and another in Russia. El Tatio is also one of the world's highest-elevated geysers sitting at over 12,000 feet above sea level.

The goal was to reach El Tatio for sunrise. Our tour guide knocked on our door at exactly 4am. Yes, 4AM! The van proceeded to the next hostal and after gathering the other 13 foreigners, the entire group fell asleep as we made our two-hour trek up the mountain. Half way through our journey Jake and I were jolted awake as the van attempted to roll up and over huge rock piles. We looked through the window and saw only darkness. There was no road. Thank GOD we didn't rent a car!! You would have seen CNN news flash: Two Americans gone missing, last seen renting a mini-Yaris...

We arrived to El Tatio at 6am. As we stepped out of the van we were instantly numbed by a bone chilling -9 degree (Celcius that is) breeze. We had been warned about the potential for elevation sickness but I was so cold, I couldn't feel anything. We wandered through the geyser field as our guides prepared our breakfast - Chilean style of course...bread with lunch meat and cheese, cookies and tea. Jake and I explored the geyser field for about an hour longer, taking extreme acrobat photos while the other American tourists looked at us like we were from Mars.

If you ever visit San Pedro de Atacama, do not pass the opportunity up to visit El Tatio. Despite the bone chilling temperatures and crack-of-dawn departure, El Tatio was the highlight of our entire two-week trip. It is an adventure you would make once (maaaaybe twice if you dare to brave the extreme conditions again) in a lifetime. The natural essence of the geysers' beauty is absolutely breathtaking.

Two hours later, we piled back into the van and drove 10 minutes to the hot springs. After the chilly long morning, soaking in the natural springs was absolutely perfect. After 45-minutes of bath time, it was time to head back to San Pedro. On the way back, we had a few unexpected surprises. First, a pack of vicuñas, Chile's national animal which is part of the llama/camel family and can only be found living in the Alpine area of the Andes; and then, a random field of grazing llamas.

Our final stop before reaching San Pedro was to hike through a field of 700-year-old cacti. Who would have thought that at the end of the dry land of cacti we would stumble upon a waterfall?! We arrived back to our hostal at 1:30pm, showered, had lunch at a cool hippy Venice/LA-esque restaurant, napped, then woke up to eat yet another exquisite meal with a bottle of Chile's famous Carmere.

Can I please live every day of my life like this?

Here is the 2nd mini-album!

Chile Qualifies For The World Cup!

Santiago is wild tonight! Chile played Colombia at 6pm in a fight for a seat in the 2010 World Cup. Chile hasn't been to the World Cup since 1998. Chile historically has not played well so making it this far is a huge deal. All Chile had to do was tie to qualify and they won 4-2. Needless to say, Chileans are ecstatic!! Chile now joins Brasil and Paraguay as part of the five qualifying South American teams that will advance. The win tonight reminds me a bit of our beloved Red Sox who won the World Series the first year I moved to Boston after an 86-year losing streak. I MUST be a token of good luck.

I was dying to watch the game somewhere to share in the excitement with the public. None of my girlfriends like soccer, therefore, I called my new Chilean buddy Jorge who I met on Thursday at my language institute's weekly exchange. He's a fanatic as every Chilean, or South American for that matter, is for soccer. All the local hole-in-the-wall joints were full so we popped into a more established bar since it was easy to find a seat and had a nice big screen TV. The score was 3-2 with 12 minutes left in the game. Everyone sat on pins and needles as the timer ticked...THEN...the TV went out!! Boos proceeded. We got the check and booked it to the street. There was no need to ask who had won because horns sounded and "Viva Chile!" chants resonated on the street.

Jorge and I followed the crowd towards Plaza Italia where Chileans gather to celebrate after every soccer win and riot after every loss. Armed police forces lined the street. Chileans jumped up-and-down singing the national anthem and chanting their fight song. The energy built, mosh pits formed, kids lit fireworks, and I decided to retreat to my warm, safe apartment before the police stepped in. I practically was the only person walking away from the rally. Ha!

I Am Alive!!

I'm sorry I have been so out of touch! The last two months have been a whirlwind. I am officially back on board with updating my blog! My personal goal is to update twice per week since my days left here are getting fewer by the second!

Jake was here for two weeks and left Wednesday, the 24th. Since his departure I've been roaming the streets of Santiago, perusing all the menus and salivating at 2-for-1 happy hours wishing I were a party of two to indulge. It's never as fun to drink alone. Do you feel sorry for me yet? It's taken me a week to acclimate back to reality. I'm now trying to figure out how to retire at the age of 31 to travel the world starting by touching every corner of the South American continent. The Latin American language and culture has officially infused my soul. I can't get enough! Therefore, I enrolled in a Spanish institute today. I will be taking 3 hours of classes five days a week for the next month. I'm so excited! Today was my first day. It's great to learn from the Chilean school of thought. It is completely different and much easier than they teach in the U.S.! They teach more practically - as you would speak in your every day life.

Time to reminisce...Jake and I took our two weeks by storm! Where do I even start? From the driest desert in the world in the north; to my girlfriend's farm in the south to celebrate Chile's Independence Day; to the quaint cobble-stone roads of the coastal town Valparaíso; to the hidden San Antonio wine valley, five miles from the ocean, known for its Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Noirs, and Syrahs.

If you're like me, the desert sounds completely unappealing. I prefer lush greenery and oceans. But, San Pedro de Atacama transformed me. Don't envision Texas or Nevada. Instead, imagine flamenco reserves in the middle of the world's 3rd largest salt flat (the first is in Bolivia and the second is in your truly Utah!), geyser fields, thermal springs, and sunsets of bright hues reflecting off the faces of volcanos.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, we have about 800,000 words to bless you with. Jake brought his old school 35 mm super-duper camera and we both had digitals. At the risk of giving you a stigmatism we are in the process of editing. In the meantime, I will roll out small groups of photos in a beautiful chronological order just like I like them. ¡Bienvenido OCD!

We spent the first six days in San Pedro de Atacama. This desert is so dry that nothing can self-sustain - there are no rats, no snakes, no insects...nothing. It is the most popular tourist spot in all of Chile. But, it's not annoyingly touristy. I found it pleasantly touristy - quite the oxymoron - because of the lack of Americans. We met Brasilians, Sweeds, Australians, French and Moroccans. The town of San Pedro is an adorable, quaint town, elevated at about 7,000 ft., with unpaved roads barely wide enough to accommodate a car. The dirt roads are lined with adobe, little stores and restaurants, and most either walk or ride bikes. The climate is perfect - low 70s the entire time we were there. San Pedro instantly transports you to a state of relaxation. And, calls for Pisco Sours... :)

We had initially planned to rent a car until my boss subtly advised otherwise. "Um, you know most of the roads are unpaved and not on the map. If you get lost, you're screwed." The first day we made ourselves at home in our hostal and hit the streets to book tours for the days to follow. We went with Lonely Planet's recommendation of Cosmo Andino and set up a three day back-to-back circuit starting Sunday with Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) and Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). Valle de la Muerte was originally named Valle de Marte (Mars Valley). As I've mentioned before, Chileans have terrible pronunciation of words. "Marte" sounded like "muerte" and as they came to realize that "Death Valley" created a bigger tourist attraction, they changed its name.

We started our journey by running down a giant sand dune in the middle of Valle de la Muerte followed by walking through the Cordillera de Sal (salt mountain range). It hasn't rained in San Pedro for eight years, since El Niño. Therefore, the mountain salt range is covered in clay that the high winds have blown through during the night. When the temperature drops in the late afternoon the salt retracts and you can hear it cracking. It was erie! Our guide assured us that although we heard cracking, there would be no landslide.

From there we drove 5 minutes to Valle de la Luna named after its lunar-like landforms eroded by eons of flood and wind. We climbed to the top of a thin mountain range fighting for a spot among other tourists and awaited the unforgettable sunset.

Here is the first mini-album!