San Pedro de Atacama

We got picked up on time shortly after 7 and gathered the rest within 15 minutes. After a short drive we got in a traffic jam which our driver said can happen after snowfall. They close the access road to a pass because of the snow on the streets and as soon as they've cleared it, they review and open it. Unfortunately we waited there for hours, had breakfast and ultimately still couldn't get through. So after 6 hours we turned back and drove back to town to the tour agency to see our options.
They wouldn't help us with accomodations for the night but rebook us for tomorrow. The tour will probably take another route depending on the weather that is open even when there's heavy rain and snow... We decided to rebook it because it's still the best option. A little bit later they confirmed the pickup time for 4:00 am 😵

So we had the whole afternoon for ourselves to explore the town and a site that had been recommended by the tourist information about 3km out of town. We decided to walk there and see what's there to do... Unfortunately our navigation apps showed bridges/paths across the river that weren't there anymore due to the heavy rain yesterday. So we walked until the end of the road along the river and then forded the river. We made it dry to the other side but Julia's sunglasses went to the other side 🙈 We weren't sure if we'd just walk by but it looked super nice so we went in to Pukara de Quitar despite saying that it closes at 5 and it was 5:05 already 😁 The ruins were really cool perched along the gentle hill. In the background mighty Andes mountains and a green oasis winding through the valley. A truly picturesque view 🤩 There is a walkway leading up the mountain and giving an amazing view over the whole area and into the nearby Death Valley. The weather has been luckily very stable today and we just had a light drizzle on the way.

For the way back we decided to go on the other side hoping to have more luck with any way of crossing the river without getting wet feet. It was about 2km of detour but we made it and just in time to get to a restaurant that had been recommended, "La Picá del Indio". It offers interesting menu options at an affordable rate. There we also had a Pisco Sour, which tasted like a well mixed Caipirinha 🍸 It's a great refreshing cocktail... We walked back to the hotel and shopped some snacks on the way for the next days. Just as we came back to our room it started pouring down 😌Læs mere