With wonderful Calama ever receding in the rear view mirror, we took the desert roads out to a town called Chiu-Chiu (not choo-choo, Silvi says, but "tiu-tiu". Still, Chileans are renowned for their bad Spanish pronunciation). Here is the oldest church in Chile, although I might have said that about one we saw in Santiago. I can confirm that this is older, made from adobe, and by the banks of the Loa River, Chile's longest. We were even treated to the town's school children practicing their independence day parade.
From there we trekked out to Laguna Chiu-Chiu, a strange desert pool, almost perfectly circular, and 80 metres deep. The water is very clear, and you can see how its vertical sides drop away. As the only large body of water for several hundred kilometres it was a surprise to see a few ducks swimming about. Maybe they're on holiday like us.
Ignacio, who was the only one of us looking good on four hours sleep, then drove us to San Pedro de Atacama, slap bang in the middle of the high desert, and our place of lodging for the next three nights. They have very tight building restrictions to keep the look and feel of the town as authentic as they can - adobe, wood, and stone are about the only materials allowed. It is back packer heaven, a slice of desert life but with plenty of bars, hostels and wi-fi. Silvi and Ignacio had cheekily but wonderfully booked us into a rather plush hotel, where we relaxed and kicked the dust from our boots before a sunset excursion to the nearby Valley of the Moon.
A parade? To welcome us?
San Francisco de Chiu-Chiu
The roof is made from dried cactus.
Our Lady of Chile.
The Loa River. The longest, not the fiercest.
Getting directions.
Out by the lagoon.
A mirage?
Our desert hosts.
Hannah is king of the world!
Yep, desert.
I've found my new house! Just need to get the Internet in there.
The long road.
Looking down on the Valley of the Moon. More on that later.
Hannah dries out.
Silvi models.
San Pedro de Atacama. Not much to look at, but very nice.
Relaxing in the pool. It's freezing - I got Hannah to take the photo then I jumped out.
