Dear Friends OK cast your minds back 6 months ago ... me dressed in black, fishnets, heels, mulberry handbag, never went anywhere without lippy and mascara and of course the Gucci sunglasses... Now envision me yesterday in the Atacama desert where blue skies meet a lunar landscape. Pair of jeans, a cleanish t-shirt and flat lace up boots....Only the sunglasses remain ... It is 4pm we head out to Valle del Luna, Valley of the Moon and Death Valley. They are windy, hot, dusty and desolute life does not seem to be anywhere.... We start with a pleasant stroll down a sandy hill walking through amazing rock formations, the sand is whipped up by the wind and stings your arms. But it is all rather jolly and the contrast from sky to rock is breathtaking. Then we head to the salt caves, I imagine caves not dissimilar to those in Oz, big cavenuos subterranean ampthitheatres where you can stand up and watch the salt crystals glisten in you torch light. Ohhh no, this is Chile so we enter a chasm just wide enough for our bodies but we can stand up and daylight is still lighting the way. Then we move in deeper and you are bent almost double and the light light is disappearing. Then you are in pitch black with only the few torches that we have lighting the way. then you have to climb. You have to balance on one foot on a small ledge and fling your other leg up and over whilst clutching onto your torch and the wall. Lucking we had admired the salt crystals, like quartz at the entrance ... because in the cave you just concentrate on not bumping your head or falling off a ledge. Daylight breaks the gloom and you can stand up in an open space and in front of you is a vertical wall of salt steps, yep the onñy way out is up.. so hands and knees help you scramble to the summit... You are dusty and my boots that were muddy 4 days ago are white! This is not the end of the adventure then onto Dunes Mayor, you guessed it a large sand dune, from which you can get 360 degreee views of the Andes at sunset. The Andes are the second highest mountain range after the Himalayas. The walk up the dune to the summit is no mean feat. Many opt to walk back to the bus, but despite the huffing and puffing made worse by the altitude I make it to the summit. From there the sun sets and the Andes glow pink in the dusk, seeming to absorb every last ray of the setting sun... Beautiful ..... Back to my hotel, a typical mud hut with grass roof, shower etc ... for a few hours sleep as the next tour starts at 4am ! We travel to see the Geysers at El Tatio, the crying grandfather. These are the highest altitude geysers, at 4320 metres above sea level. To put this in perspective Ben Nevis is only 1344etres and Everest is 8,844metres. It is -14 degrees and the steam from the geysers seems in sharp contrast to the ice and frost on the ground. These Geysers produce more steam than water displays, but the extreme cold makes the steam appear to rise endlessly into the sky. The killer geyser has killed 6 people, who have fallen into the boiling water, this is Chile so it is not fenced off neither are there stern park officials to warn you about the dangers. But common sense says that if boiling water is gushing out of the ground don't get too close... No life appears to exist here, but if you look really closely you can see frogs in the warm streams.. Unfortunately I succumb to mild altitude sickness, persistant coughing, nausea and a blinding headache, not help by a cold I seem to have carried with me the whole trip... We descend a few hundred metres to a village made from mud where they make their living from Llamas we buy Sopaidillas and get back on the coach and descend to San Pedro at a mere 2300 metres above Sea Level! San Pedro is an Oasis and the small single storey mud huts house gift shops and rtavel agencies... I have slept for a few hours showered and feel almost human but a 8am start tomorrow means another early night ...... My adventures continue my clothes remain dusty ! Love Lynne xxxx PS HOWARD the torches and duct tape have been used !