Friday 14th December Most comfortable nights sleep yet with air conditioning, silky smooth cotton bed linen and a good mattress! We decided to go for a pre-breakfast run in the park. It was another dry sunny day with a fresh feel in the air as we ran round the grit paths between trees, statues, fountains and flowerbeds, with sprinklers spraying, hard to believe it will be Christmas in less than 2 weeks! We snap some photos and return to the Ismael to shower b...

Thursday 13th December We were up early and packed quickly - we have had plenty of practice now!! After being so efficient we were waiting outside the door when the restaurant opened for breakfast- unusual for us! Our motive was to avoid another horrible boxed breakfast and grab some fruit, toast and coffee before the journey. As usual, the transfer arrived early but we had time for a quick bite. We drove out through the dusty streets and red adobe walls of Sa...

Wednesday 12th December An early start today as we were going to view the El Tatio geysers. At 4.30am our bus arrived with guide Enzo. We had collected our box breakfasts from reception and had a couple of coca teas before leaving. It was dark and cool but we were expecting it to be much colder as we ascended to higher altitudes. We dozed in the bus before reaching the 9.5 sqkm geyser field at 4500m. It was still dark when we drove up the last track, and we wer...

Tuesday 11th December. Delicate start today for Bill - must have been something we ate. Today we have the ’Cactus valley’ trek with a civilised start time at 8.30. Gonzales and Juan are punctual and we travel in the freshly valeted 4x4 for about 40 minutes, up into the canyon belt below the Andes, travelling from an altitude of 2400 metres in the town, to 3000 metres. We pass a couple emerging from their camper van when we park to start if our hike - brings...

Monday 10th December The prediction was correct- it was another restless night despite throwing off the blankets and employing the hurricane force fan in the middle of the night! After all our over-eating yesterday, we opted for a light breakfast of fresh fruit and scrambled eggs, before setting off for the Puritama hot springs (3500M elevation). The bus had a padded internal rollcage- is there something we don’t know about this trip? We arrived 20 minutes b...