When last we joined our band of travellers, we had just managed to secure ourselves both an early bedtime and a late sleep-in. “What could possibly go wrong?” we wondered to ourselves.
As it turns out, San Pedro de Atacama is celebrating its 45th anniversary this weekend. Music started up in earnest around midnight and carried on until 4 am.
Thankfully, my brain somehow decided that the music was part of some sort of photography contest – and thereby a good thing – but we still didn’t sleep as well as we’d hoped.
(For others planning to visit the Atacama – it does seem like this is unusual for San Pedro de Atacama, but worth checking in advance if your timing is flexible or if you’re a particularly light sleeper.)
Ah, well. We can sleep when we’re home.
Off to the lodge for breakfast – where we had our usual prompt service and delicious food. Just to switch things up, I ordered a ham-and-cheese omelette:
Quite tasty, but I think I’ll stick to my usual from here on.
We then carried on with our usual routine – reading, writing, and homework. But there was also some administrivia to handle – we spoke with Reception to see if we could arrange a late check-out. Generally this is available at a cost of 50% of the room rate, but we hoped they might give us a few hours leeway as we have already booked an extra lunch and a private transfer at a total cost of US$600.
And we got late check-out! Though they have a large group arriving tomorrow, they are willing to let us keep one of our rooms until 1 pm.
(Pro tip – While an extra lunch is roughly US$100 a person if booked from the resort, you can order off the bar menu for roughly US$20 – $30 a person. I think it all worked out given that we were granted the no-charge late check out, but I would have been irked had we paid full fare on the lunch when there was a much less expensive option available.)
Speaking of lunch – it’s time for today’s, where my wife once more built a healthful plate from the buffet:
The rest of us had our usual mix of burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. They are on a four-day menu rotation, and none of the current options really appealed to us.
Quiet day at the restaurant today:
We then spent the afternoon lounging at the pool. The water temperature seems warmer than it has been in previous days, which has allowed both kid and myself to go swimming. We didn’t attempt to get the steam room started today – we figured the pool and the jacuzzi would be enough.
Then back to Reception for our final excursion – the Punta del Inca hike. Beyond our usual packs carrying coats, water and other sundries, we also brought our sandals with us as this excursion involves wading across the river at several points. Should be fun! It’s also a mere 3.7 km, which should mean that it isn’t too strenuous.
There are two groups going out, one group of eight and our group of six. Everyone is there a few minutes early, and we leave right on time.
We’re on the road for roughly 20 minutes before the driver pulls over. The guide checks a gate, and then comes back to talk with the guide in the other vehicle.
Apparently someone in the local community has locked their access gate, so we’re going to need to do this as a return trip instead of a one-way – though we’ll be returning along the hillside, so our guide says it should just be an extra kilometre. This all seems reasonable to us, so we carry on.
The van parks close to the mouth of the river. There’s a brief bathroom stop before we get underway – there’s a charge to use the bathrooms, but the guide pays it for us.
We spot plenty of the cardón cactus, which produces the same slow-growing wood we saw during our Tambores hike. The cactus is now protected to prevent over-harvesting.
I’m struck by the remarkable contrast between the lush riverbed:
And the snow-capped mountains in the distance:
Here we see the wood beneath the cactus’ outer shell:
The route starts out flat and easy, but we soon reach cascading waterfalls:
The only way to get down is to essentially ‘rock climb’ across the sides of the canyon.
Our guide is cautious and ready to lead a hand, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Here we run out of path, and we switch our hiking shoes for sandals. The water is a pleasant temperature and runs at a gentle pace – but we still feel like intrepid explorers.
We repeat the cycle again and again – wading through the streams, then climbing down the rocks – pausing occasionally to take in the scenery:
Eventually we re-don our hiking shoes and carry on along the narrow stone paths:
But there are still plenty of rocks to climb:
And waterfalls to admire:
I promise, I’m going to stop posting photos of lush desert canyons.
Okay, just a few more:
Eventually we left the river behind, and started to scale the hills.
Here we found some remnants of indigenous settlements, including an animal corrall:
Up further along the hillside, where we spot an Atacama unicorn:
And we wait for the second group, which has fallen behind. We’re using a different route than usual because of the gate closure. Apparently some of the locals have been increasingly vocal in their demand for additional funds from Explora, which is unfortunate – at this stage we would love to be taking the shorter route back to the van.
But it does give us the chance to admire this rugged scenery:
And its inhabitants:
Sheep!
Eventually the other group comes into view, and we carry on. How hard could it be? It’s only an extra kilometre, after all.
We pause briefly admire the river gorge from on high:
But mostly we just put one foot in front of the other. The extra kilometre becomes two then two and a half, while the extra 15 minutes becomes an hour.
The kids put a rock on the cairn. They’ve more then earned it:
We find ourselves in a race against the dying daylight:
But eventually we begin the final descent and reach the van an hour and a half later than expected. I take my reward in the form of an ice cold beer, which is sadly denied to the lovely British couple we met along the way – their van doesn’t have any! (We didn’t find this out until later, or else I’d have given them one of ours.)
Thus ended our final exploration with Explora Atacama. While the gate closure was something of a surprise, it apparently followed a similar incident which took place earlier in the week – so it should have been part of our pre-departure briefing. I think we would have still gone on that particular trip, but it would have helped to know in advance.
Anyway – we’re not going to let it ruin an otherwise excellent trip. Instead, we return to the lodge for a lovely dinner of lamb shank (previously ordered, but no less delicious the second time around).
The dessert menu also changed today:
We order the eclairs (previously pictured), which are very tasty.
And then it’s off to bed – perchance to sleep, perchance to be kept awake by a village festival until 4 am.