San Pedro, revisited

Ok, I definitely passed judgment on this town too early. Granted, my first impression of the place was clouded by how shady my arrival was: at night, in the dark with few street lights, no luck at my first hostel, bugs in the bathroom of the hostel I eventually stayed in, and barking dogs as I tried to fall asleep that first night. But I woke up yesterday and the sun was out, the bugs were gone, the dogs were quiet, and I explored the town and determined that San Pedro is actually very cool. The dirt streets and stone walls of shops and restaurants are not very welcoming at first, but a quick glance inside one of the doorways usually reveals some kind of hidden gem of a cafe or shop. There are several restaurants here that have great outdoor terraces under thatched roofs and the food is quite good (though this town is very expensive by South American standards as they take advantage of being an oasis in the desert/tourist hotspot).

Yesterday afternoon I did a tour/hike of some of the surrounding areas that was put on by one of the tour agencies here. We visited and trekked around the Cordillera de Sal, Valle de Muerte (originally was Mars Valley instead of Death Valley but the two words en Español were confused over time), and Valle de la Luna. The landscapes are incredible, and the rock formations definitely look like something from another planet or from the moon (hence the names) due to all the seismic activity. We hiked up to points where we could look all around and see the huge Salt flat just south of San Pedro, the Volcanoes to the east (two are 6,000m high and snow-covered, and the one erupts with smoke and ash once a year according to our guide), and the Andes on much of the horizon. At one point during a hike a storm blew in pretty quickly (I was corrected that some parts of the Atacama desert are the driest places on Earth, but this part where we are gets the occasional rain storm). The wind was blowing hard and throwing rocks and sand into my legs and the legs of the other ten or so people on the hike. Was kind of painful but made it more fun I think. Then it cleared to reveal a rainbow, and we climbed to a peak then ran down a massive sand dune into Death Valley. Sounds surreal but it is true - wish I could upload some pictures here to show you guys what I am referring to. The day ended with a hike through Moon Valley where we watched the famous San Pedro sunset from on high and it lived up to all the hype. Sounds like a story book, I know. It was great.

Minor setback today as my guide from yesterday told me there was a tour available for Sunday (tomorrow) to go see the Geysers and hot springs in the area, but I went to the tour agency and they do not run tours on Sundays. Kind of bummed as I am leaving here Sunday night to head north, but I will make do renting a bike and exploring some more.