San Pedro de Atacama to start in Chilé

My first half day in San Pedro was a quiet one, after border crossing, hostel check-in and booking tours and flights, I met up with John and Amelia for supper. Unfortunately something in that first half day didn't like me too much and I spent most of my night chuckin my cookies in the hostel bathroom. A night with lots of vomit trips and very little sleep made for an incredibly long day of tours to come. But being sick on this trip seems to be a standard for me so I sucked it up and made er onto the 5:00am bus to the Tatio Geysers. Which I'm very glad I did. The frigid temperatures and early morning make the geysers beautifully visible so the shivering and fatigue are totally worth it for these sights...

We could walk in through lots of them to see the spurting water and steamy clouds.

We ate breakfast overlooking the geysers which was pretty great. There were hot springs to swim in but the tepid water was not tempting enough for this sick girl.
We stopped at a beautiful lookout spot over a lagoon on the way back.

Then at a big cactus valley.

Where we could walk down to a great waterfall.

The first tour concluded with a drop off at the hostel where I spent my entire afternoon sleeping! Before heading back to the tour companies office for my second tour. For this one our first stop was Mirador de Coyote, a great lookout point reminiscent of Wile Coyote and Roadrunner!

Then onto Valle de Muerte, Death Valley. Though it was intended to be named Valle de Marte due to the Mars appearance, a mistaken word choice has stuck! The patterns shaped by wind in the valley are so amazing and unique!..

We walked along the side of the incredibly windy valley, then down towards the sandy side.

Which was where the fun started with a run down the sandy slope!

I've never had so much sand in my shoes and so much fun acquiring it!
After this we headed to the second valley, Valle de la Luna, Moon Valley. After a short walk up, the view definitely explains the name.

We spent a bit of time up there watching the sun set and the colours develop in the surrounding valley and volcanoes.

And upon our return I had about enough energy for a quick shower before a wonderfully long sleep! I felt I had definitely made the most of my single day in San Pedro!