Salar de Tara and Farewell Atacama

It's my last day in the Atacama, and I have a feeling this part of the trip will end on a high. I get to sleep in a little which is going to help in this full day which includes saying goodbye to the desert as I ready for the next leg of this adventure.

The Salar de Tara is another salt flat nearby, though this time, close to the Bolivian border (depending on your guide, you might even get a bonus stop). This day tour was definitely one of the ones I was really looking forward to. Not everyone goes and I guess I've developed a taste for going off road. And off road we went, in a older van. It only got stuck once (after breakfast). We were really lucky to have Alexander as our guide - and as our driver and chef as well. Where we're going, there's really not much in terms of facilities.

If you normally like to drive, I would suggest maybe this is one to let a local guide drive. There are roads and no roads where we would go, pulling off at unmarked spots along the highway. He just knew where. The ride got bumpy at times, but it's part of the adventure. Funny I would remember very little about the names of places where we went, I think the stunning scenery just turns our minds onto visuals only. Of course, we can always google afterwards, so here's one name for a place we stopped at: Monjes de la Pacana - rock formations in the middle of desert. There's a number of viewing spots you need to hit up to fully appreciate the landscape, we would climb up dunes (a beat of a feat considering it's another day of altitude) and then face the flats head on. I can't even begin to describe the vastness and majesty of the landscape before us so I'll let the photos speak for the places.

We also saw more guanacos and flamingos, which felt more exciting than yesterday - I think it's part of the excitement for today. Our guide also let us across a small marsh for yet another viewpoint where we didn't see any other group. It's a bit off the road where he even told us a bit more about the rocks and helped us each pick an obsidian rock as a souvenir though I know we probably shouldn't - take nothing and leave nothing but footprints.

This was one tour I kind of didn't want to end, and moreso than yesterday, this geography did not only take my breath away, it blew me away. I cannot recommend coming here enough, you have to do this. The panoramas can only give you a hint at what you would experience in person.

Back in San Pedro later, I'd pick up my backpack and say goodbye to our sweet hostal owner. We only had short conversations in bits of Spanish, and between the "I'll be back really late because I'm stargazing" and "Can I leave my bag til evening because I'm visiting the Salar de Tara", we managed and got along well.

The bus station is a short walk through the town and I get there in plenty of time for my bus, which I'd booked back on my first day once I knew what time I could be back for. I'm headed to Calama for the night so I could catch an early flight back to Santiago the next day. This is the first bus I've taken by myself in South America, not bad, and very comfy. I worried a bit about when we would arrive since the bus appeared to be crawling along at 30km hour, but eventually it would pick up the speed. Outside, night was falling so there wasn't much we could see. After arriving at the Calama bus station, it was about a 15-20 minute walk to the hotel. The MDS Calama was a great spot for the night after several days in the desert, a touch of almost luxury at $50USD and just a short taxi ride from the airport.Read more