Geysers and Moon Valley!

At night, we could feel the effects of the altitude in San Pedro, which is 2400m above sea level. A 15 minute walk at night can leave you feeling short of breath and wanting to take deeper breaths. But that was the extent of the effects we felt.

Our last two tours were on the same day. One began with a pick-up from our hostel at 4:30 AM. We were going to the Geyser de Tatio, a geyser field that is 4300m above sea level (We went skydiving from this height). Our tour began so early because that is when all the geysers are most active. Did I mention that at this elevation, it is about minus 15 degrees Celsius! Since we have left Canada, it feels as though the cold has been following us! We had breakfast there and part of our breakfast was hard-boiled eggs that the guide cooked in a plastic bag in one of the pools of hot water.

At the end of the tour, we had the option to relax in a thermal pool. By this time it was later in the morning and about minus 10 degrees Celsius. There were change rooms, if you were brave enough to venture in. Ramanan chickened out because of the cold but I decided to take the plunge. Chilling in the pool was nice but not as warm as I expected. What was neat about the thermal pool was that it was warm, hot and cold at the same time. In some spots, you could barely touch the bottom because it was so hot, then all of a sudden you would feel a cold current but then you quickly scramble to a warmer spot.

Later in the day, we went to the Valle de Luna. As you probably guessed, it was given this name because it resembles the surface of the moon. It's part of the Salt Mountain Chain (so made of salt and covered with clay and sand) and if you're quiet, you can hear the expansion and contraction of the salt in the sun versus the shade. Listening to the sound was cool but you also feel like something is going to explode and that you should get the hell out of there. At the end we climbed a ridge and sat on the edge to watch the sun set in the valley. And as the sun sets, you turn your back to it and watch the stunning change of colours in the mountains in the horizon. We brought wine with us in and watched the sun set.