Just 3 hours after leaving the sunny beaches of Arica we had climbed to an altitude of 3500m. The air temperature had dropped significantly, breathing was noticeably more intentional, the heating needed to go on in our room and there was a curious log fire in the cafe that evening....all of this within just 80 miles!

We had previously spent 8 days in the moderate discomfort of altitude in Tibet but that was back in October and stood for nothing now. Back in thin air we would need to acclimatise all over again! At least this time we would know what to expect, how our bodies were likely to cope and we also had a remaining stash of helpful pills to make it a little easier!

The Lauca National Park sits at an altitude of 4000-4700 metres and visiting from sea level without at least one day to acclimatise is not a good idea! 80 miles from Arica up in the Andes, at 3500m in altitude, the small village of Putre is the perfect place to do just that before venturing the remaining 10 miles into the park. Putre, named after the sound made by stream water over rocks, actually turned out to be a lot more than just a place to acclimatise or indeed a noise. A quiet little village set in an oasis of greenness in a valley under a mighty Volcanic peak, the place had an immediate appeal.

The lodge we had booked at a very reasonable rate was an idyllic rustic Peruvian style retreat with mock adobe walls (whatever that is?) and most importantly hot water and heating! The landlord, a friendly Italian chap called Flavio, happily informed us it was 200% earthquake proof. He mentioned there had been an earthquake (6.something) very close by in the park last week. "If we do get an earthquake stay in your room it is perfectly safe, don't panic or run into the garden" he instructed. He also added that "we don't get Tsunamis up here like they can in Arica". At 3,500m high I sure hope not!

The lodge offered views down the valley and upwards to the green terraced ex Inca land towards the white peak of the Nevados Putre Volcano and across to the mountain road which our bus had taken earlier that morning. Only 5 mins walk from the village square and it's handful of shops, cafes, wandering llamas and friendly smiling people, it was obvious we had made a great choice. The village has retained it's Peruvian influence despite Chile capturing this land over 120 years ago during the war in the Pacific.

The bus ride in itself was quite magnificent. Slicing it's way through the valley the bus climbed higher and higher into the barren slopes of sand and boulders. Rather unexpectedly, there was a green valley sat right in the middle of the mountains, almost immediately as we started the ascent from Arica. At the bottom of the valley is the water source for Arica and in delivering the water down the mountain the river supports beautiful green pasture and arable land. It just looked totally out of place!

With only a couple of steep drops, behind the rather feeble looking crash barriers, the road mainly wound it's way up the mountains. The green valley disappeared below and the mountains turned bare, before we spotted the odd cactus, then thousands of the prickly things were dotted across the slopes. Nearing our destination, we were again puzzled to see more and more green desert living organisms and then out of nowhere the oasis of Putre appeared below.

The volcano overlooking the village was unblemished by cloud and towered above with an aura of greatness against a perfect blue sky. We were warmly greeted by Flabio and quickly recognising he spoke excellent English, I muttered "A nice day today" he replied confidently " yes weather is good now, it won't rain again until December"....we smiled, with news like that we new we would like it here!

We had arrived just after 10am after taking the 7am bus from Arica and our original plan was to take it easy and allow ourselves a chance to acclimatise. Flabio told us of a couple of walks we could take from the hostel and the idea of rest was soon forgotten. Instead we trekked 3 miles down the valley admiring the wild west style canyons, old Inca terraced land, cacti and varied colours of the mountains. It was a great idea until we realised not only did we have to walk 3 miles back uphill but also it would be from 3000 metres up to 3500 metres!

Altitude is a strange thing and has to be experienced to be understood. Seemingly easy steps up a gradual slope become a heavy plod with regular stops. Reduced to smaller, quicker gasps, it's a weird feeling not being able to breathe fully, but it's also not too much of a problem. As long as you don't go too high too soon, the bodies physiology adjusts relatively quickly to cope with the reduction in oxygen. You just have to accept that any movement becomes a little slower.

Feeling the weight of the atmosphere pushing down on us, we wearily trudged the last 500 steep metres. A smiling lady drove by in a pick up and asked if we wanted a lift, "no gracias" we replied. As she speeded off kicking up dust in the road ahead, we wondered if we had been a little too proud!

It was a great scenic walk but our thought that it was perhaps a little too ambitious on our first day at altitude, was confirmed when we were in bed at 9pm...exhausted! Evidently much more than just a gateway & acclimatisation village, hopefully the hidden gem of Putre, will also serve in preparing us for the higher altitude that follows tomorrow...