Pica oasis

We reached Pica just before 8 pm. After Salar de Huasco, the topology changed to that of deserts. There were huge sand dunes all around us. Some part of the road passed midway up the dunes. There was sand all over the road.
We reached just before sunset and saw Pica as a green oasis in the middle of the desert.

Pica is a Chilean town and commune in Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. Situated in the inland of the Atacama Desert on an oasis, Pica is famous for its small and unusually acidic lemons. The town has a communal spring with a surface temperature of 40 °C, which makes it a popular bath place in the middle of the desert. It has hotels and all basic services.

It took us quite a while to find a place to stay. All the hotels and hostels marked on maps.me had closed down. It seems that its not a populace place for an overnight. The ones that were left were either too expensive or fully occupied.
Eventually, we found a really lovely place (Hotel Rucaru) at 35000 CLP for a night. The rooms were small but very clean and well appointed. It also had a private bathroom. We checked in and went for dinner at Gato Rapido (Fast Cat) to have dinner. After that, it was sleep time. Since we had woken up quite early and had not slept that well the previous night, we requested our breakfast at 10 am and slept.Read more