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!