Departing Bolivia, we rose at 3am to catch our bus to Calama (Chile). Little did we know what awaited us! Cold and sleepy we got onto the bus surrounded by locals laden with dozens of enormous bags containing what we could only imagine was half of Bolivia`s annual produce to sell in Chile. Spoilt by tourist buses, this would turn out to be the most frustrating journey of the trip. It is hard to explain just how cold we were, thinking our limbs were going to drop off because of frostbite. Finally arriving at the Bolivian border, we queued for our exit stamps, shivering in the cold despite having layers of clothing on. We headed back onto the bus only to wait an hour for no apparent reason before driving 200 metres only to be thrown off the bus along with our luggage. Left in the middle of nowhere, we assumed a bus would be along shortly to take us across to Chile.

An hour and a half later, a bus finally turned up which took us the 200 metres from No Man`s Land to Chilean immigration. Here, we had to wait not only for passport control/migration but also for everyone on the bus to have their baggage checked. Needless to say, given the vast quantities of luggage carried by the locals, this was not a short process. After finally being on our way, or so we thought, we stopped yet another 200 metres later, once again without explanation. Supposedly the norm, everyone got off the bus and with some further investigation, we found them sitting in a restaurant having a 3 course meal! Wanting to make the most of our time (and the sunshine), we sat on the pavement by the dusty road, sipping beer and eating crisps bought at the local store. It was the most bizarre journey of our lives!!

Upon our eventual arrival in Calama, 13 hours later (as opposed to the promised 8) we hopped onto our next bus for the relatively painless journey on to San Pedro. Arriving at the hostel, we went to bed ahead of another 3:30am start. Fortunately it was worth it this time, seeing the geysers at sunrise. Once again, wearing half our suitcase full of clothes, we were prepared for the lows of -15 at an altitude of 4300 metres. After a brief explanation of how the geysers are formed, we were treated to a breakfast of eggs and hot chocolate heated up in the bubbling pools. Shortly after, we headed for the thermal baths which turned out to be nothing more than a natural pool heated by the hot springs. Watching brave souls change into swimming costumes at temperatures below freezing, we were crazy enough to join them.

Circulation boosted and feeling much better, we headed to the small village of Machuca where we sampled home made empanadas and llama kebabs. We headed back to San Pedro, where we enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the sun before our night bus on to La Serena.