Our last day in Chile is nearly over, though we got up at four to make the most of it. I didn’t need an alarm clock, for my body has been on the ball, waking me up every half hour or so when my nose and mouth have dried out completely. I awake to that awful scratchy feeling in the throat and dusty feeling in the nostrils, and then desperately swat for my water bottle. I must’ve been half-asleep when I tried to hydrate my nose, for my shirt was drenched this morning.

Among all the tour options around San Pedro, there are two no-brainers: sunset at Valle de la Luna and sunrise at El Tatio Geysers. There were therefore a lot of other tourists at the geysers this morning, but the field was so vast and the white smoke so thick that the majority of them disappeared from view. Our guide left us to wander around while he made breakfast, and I soon realized that the Yellowstone precautions I’m accustomed to were nonexistent. In some spots the ground was hard, in others it sank a bit. Some geysers were exploding with sulfurous gas, some were bubbling with mud. If you looked up for a few seconds, you could splash through a stream of cold water over pastel minerals, or you could fall into a boiling crevice with no bottom in sight. Equally subtle features that they leave tourists to discover for themselves.

There was also a pool that had been constructed around a hot spring, but I forgot my bathing suit. “Just go in your underwear,” our guide told me. “That’s the thing,” I responded with a chuckle. A Swedish guy that I had met chimed in to explain: “He’s been backpacking for eight months.” I dipped my feet in the pool, though most people feared getting out too much to get in anyways.

On our way back to San Pedro, we saw green rabbits, desert flamingos, painted llamas (for “La Semana Santa”), a cactus field, and a village with only twenty inhabitants – a random mix of desert attractions. A few weeks ago, at the other tip of the country, there were arctic penguins in glacier fields. That’s what I’ve loved about Chile. The food was nothing special, the architecture undistinguished, but the scenery and the people have truly been unique. I’m going to miss Chile, though I doubt Julie is going to miss all the bad puns I make with its name.

From here on out – until my last flight home – I’m ready for South America: hiking boots instead of flip flops, used toilet paper in a waste bin (if there’s toilet paper at all), dubiously legal border crossings, bottled water only, indecisive weather, long bus rides, vibrant handicrafts, and who knows what else …

One last look at Chile before it’s on to Bolivia!

3/23 Nick arrived! Spent the night on a boat in Puerto Natales
3/24 – 27 Navimag cruise through the Patagonian fjords
3/28 Explored the island of Chiloe, flew to Santiago
3/29 Flew to Easter Island, hiked around the Orongo crater
3/30 Rented quad bikes and toured ourselves, traditional Rapa Nui dance show
3/31 Did a guided tour for the spots we missed
4/1 Flew back to Santiago where Nick and I experienced a “café with legs”
4/2 Cherished last day with Nick, dinner with Julie’s friend Veronica
4/3 and 4/4 Downtime in Santiago
4/5 Visited the cemetery and Pablo Neruda’s house with Javier, bus to Pucon
4/6 Met up with Max and got settled in his house
4/7 Hiked up Volcan Villarica and slid down it
4/8 Enjoyed my table in Café Agora
4/9 Max showed us his favorite spots in Pucon
4/10 Overnight bus back to Santiago
4/11 Escaped city smog at a Norwegian vineyard
4/12 Flew north to Antofagasta, bus to San Pedro de Atacama
4/13 Bathed in natural hot springs, watched the sunset behind Valle de la Luna
4/14 Froze until the sun rose at the Tatio Geysers
4/15 Head into the Salar de Uyuni of Bolivia

This entry was posted on Friday, April 14th, 2006 at 5:25 pm in XIX. Chile. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.