Desert Crossing to Chile

We started with breakfast at our hotel before leaving around 7.30am to make a quick stop at a house where we got to pat llamas.
We drove to our lunch spot where we first went for a relaxing dip in the natural hot springs - by far the best hot springs of the trip (and the hottest!) plus an incredible view of flamingos and vicunas!
We then had a buffet lunch before jumping into the 4WDs for the last time as we headed toward the Chilean border.
We exited Bolivia and were in ‘no man’s land’ for about 20min until we reached Chilean immigration and entered Chile!
Our bus driver dropped us of at the town of San Pedro de Atacama in the middle of the desert. He described it as a "small village, lots of tourists, very expensive and lots of dogs!" From our first impressions, this seemed accurate!
We reached our hostel and then went straightway to withdraw money and exchange for USD which we would need in Argentina.
We explored the local markets (Gab bought a dress and Daniel bought a shot glass) and enjoyed an ice cream!
We went out for a nice dinner with the group where we shared a Chilean red wine, a chicken dish and a quesadilla. There was a fire in the middle and a band. The "main street" on San Pedro is a dirt road and the restaurants / bars look small from the outside and when you enter, they are larger and go back quite far with often open areas with bonfires and tables with live music. We discovered this again whrn we went out to another place with some of the group where Gab had a sangria and Daniel had some beers and we chatted and played drinking games with the group until they shut.Read more