After an overnight bus trip where I actually slept thanks to upgrading to premium - a seat that nearly fully reclined! - I arrived in the desert town of San Pedro de Atacama. I had imagined that this small town would just be a stop off for the trip across to Bolivia but it was actually a charming small frontier town. The main streets are mainly filled with tourist activities but somehow the town still manages to retain its character.

I was staying in Hostel Rural - advertised as a party hostel but in fact way too chilled out to be anything of the kind - music off by 23.00! The staff were very laid back but got things done efficiently and it was easy to pass time chilling in the hamocks and talking to other travellers.

Concious of being a rather lazy traveller I booked to go on a series of tours to complement the star gazing tour I had already booked. I chilled (in the hammocks) the first day and got up super early (4am!) to go on a tour to Tatio geysers with my German room mate Lena, It was -7 when we arrived and we both froze - no swimming in the thermal baths for us! The geysers in all honesty were a bit of a disappointment - perhaps having to get uo so early I expected something more dramatic! I also had a panic attack as I realised I had forgotten to put my memory card back in my camera so could only take 19 photos in th internal memory and then rely on my phone - disaster!

After the geysers we travelled on to viewing points of Volcan Putana and the small village of Machuca where I had a gorgeous goats cheese empanada, llama kebab and made friends with a lovely cocker spaniel puppy - surely nothing to to with the kebab I was eating!

We returned to San Pedro but 1pm - time for lunch and more chilling before my 23.00 star gazing tour. The tour was to a private observatory with 10 telescopes - including the largest private telescope- in the middle of the desert just outside town. The tour was taken by a Canadian guy who was veery funny and informative and told us about the stars before letting us loose on the telescapes. This time I saw Jupitar, Saturn, Mars, the Jewel box star cluster, Tarantuka nebula and the coldest star we can see amongst other things. Although so of ot was a repeat of the staf night in La Serena it was amazing again and could have turned me into a star geek! The journey back was delayed as the transfer bus was caught in a police check meaning I didn't get to bed until 2am - only awake for 22 hours so not too bad.....

Tried for a lie in the next day - and failed so up and about at a decent time but spent the morning working out my future plans and getting ready for the trip across to Bolivia the next day. In the afternoon I went on a trip to el Valle de Luna (Moon Valley) which as spectacular and we watched the sun set over the Valle de los Muertes (the valley of the dead)

Returning to San Pedro I treated myself to a delicious steak and some pisco sours at Adobe on my last night in Chile then an early night and ready to leave at 7.30 the next morning,