Pachamama Tour mama !!

Day 1

The first day was a long one, stopping for lunch at the seaside resort of Pichidangui and then heading up to La Serena which we eventually reached late afternoon. We spent a couple of hours or so on the beach watching the pelicans fishing, but resisted going for a dip.

Pelicans, La Serena

After checking into the hotel we heard a familiar voice and there was Will, our old friend from La Casa Roja in Santiago. We hadn´t seen him for a few weeks and he was booked onto the rest of the Pachamama tour. That evening the whole group (16 of us including Maria-Jose, the guide, and Marco, the driver) went out for food and a few drinks. It was quite amusing to see that Will was now on the wagon....this was NOT the Will we had met back in Santiago ! The group then headed off to a karaoke bar but we made a sharp exit and headed back to the hotel....we had learned our lesson weeks ago in Valparaiso !!

Day 2

The following morning there was much confusion about whether or not the clocks had changed....they were due to but the Chilean government had changed things at the last minute. We headed up the coast to Punta Choros where we took a boat ride out towards Isla Damas, famous for it´s dolphins and sealions. The whole area is part of a national park but after an hour or so at sea we had only seen a few sealions and were a bit disheartened. Things soon changed.....the boat sped off and we soon saw loads of dolphins and more sealions and then came the best bit. Not one but two huge humpbacked whales were in the water right next to us ! We sat and watched them surfacing for about 20 minutes and it was truely amazing...

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

We then headed close to Isla Damas and got to see loads more sealions, penguins, gannets, sea otters and vultures to name but a few.

Vulture

Baby sealion

It was then back to dry land - the trip out to sea had been fantastic !

Happy after seeing the whale

It was then further north to eventually arrive in Bahia Inglesa (English Bay - named after an English pirate who arrived here centuries ago) where we were booked into some very nice, compact wooden huts. It had been a long day so after food and a couple of beers we crashed out fairly early.

Day 3

Today was a well earned rest day...we were to stay around Bahia Inglesa, chill out and prepare for tonight´s party. At lunch we headed into Caldera, the nearest town, and feasted at "Empanadopolis". Empanadas are kind of like a cornish pasty but with diferent fillings and we´d had many to date across the whole continent....none, however, compared to the ones we had today. They were fantastic !! That afternoon we had a stroll on the beach but again resisted going in the sea as it was an unnatural shade of bright green !! We later found out that the whole bay is used for fish farming....it was a bit like a giant fish tank that has never been cleaned !! At night the whole group got together for a barbeque courtesy of Maria-Jose and Marco. The food was amazing and much alcohol was consumed by all (except Will)...

Barbeque night, Pachamama Tour

Day 4

Due to last night´s extravagance we set off fairly late today, heading toward the city of Antofagasta. It was another long drive (respect to Marco), broken only for a lunch stop and then at a huge and very impressive sculpture in the middle of the desert called El Mano del Desierto (The Hand of the Desert).

La Mano del Desierto (The Hand of the Desert)

We eventually rocked up in Antofagasta where we were treated to the delight´s of it´s huge shopping mall and the amazing (NOT) food it had to offer us !

Day 5

Today was billed as the best day of the tour, and it didn´t disappoint ! After breakfast we headed up the coast to see "La Portada", a huge natural stone archway out at sea.

La Portada

We then headed inland towards the driest place in the world, the Atacama Desert. Late morning we stopped at a train cemetary where there were about 10 or so old steam locomotives (Robbie Rocker,you would love it !!) and various carriages abandoned. Because of the extremely dry atmospheric conditions they were in almost pristeen condition...it was pretty mad !!

Train Cemetery

We then had a late breakfast - possibly the finest scrambled eggs ever made...ever ! It was then further into the firery furnace of the Atacama desert. We stopped at the salt flats where we imbibed in a shot of tequila with what must have been the nicest tasting salt we had ever tried...

Tequila shots with the world´s best tasting salt

Ohhh tequila....it makes me happy !!

It was incredibly hot now but we all cooled down with a swim in a natural pool at the desert oasis of Peine...it was so nice !! Afterwards we watched the sunset at Laguna Chaxa, home to many flamingoes. The place was truely special with huge mountains and volcanoes around.

Flamingoes, Laguna Chaxa

After the sun had set we drove the short distance into San Pedro de Atacama and checked into the ´rustic´ hotel we were booked into. Maria-Jose had been a bit wary about taking us to this place but we loved it...it was a bit like being back in India. The hosts greeted us with a glass of sweet red wine and they had a huge fire roaring....this was just what we needed as we were now at 2438m and it was a bit chilly ! That evening the group all went out for dinner to a great restaurant. We enjoyed free Pisco sours, many beers and fantastic live local music.

Dinner in San Pedro (drunken driver and tour guide on left and right)

Day 6

A free day to enjoy the delights of San Pedro....we had a nice lie-in after the excesses of the previous evening then in the firery furnace of the Atacama at midday we headed out into the desert to do some sandboarding !! It was a great laugh, but getting back up those huge dunes at that altitude and in that heat was no mean feat !! They really should get some chair lifts installed...

Sandboarding

Totally rad, dude....

Later that day we headed out to the amazing scenery of the Valley of the Moon. We trekked through salt caves and then along a huge ridge to enjoy the beautiful desert sunset.

Enjoying the sunset

Back at the rustic hotel was the last night that the group would be together after a fantastic few days. In typical fashion it was another late night with the odd beer or two being consumed. The trip from Santiago to the Atacama had been a great experience and we had met some great people...

written by  jonnik on March 22, 2008 from Santiago, Chile
from the travel blog: Jon & Kenty's Grrrrrand Tour
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