We always planned on visiting San Perdro de Atacama on our way down through Chile. We'd been promised more Sandboarding fun in this small little desert down but as it turned out it was coming to towards winter and the town was winding down. There were still things to do like going out into the desert for a freezing but very informative look at the stars. Once our eyes had adjusted to the darkness the stars, planets and satellites all came sharply into focus.

It wasn't quite the perfect night for star gazing, this would have to have been the Salt flat trip in Bolivia. There were a few clouds to get in the way but with the help of 10 very powerful telescopes we were able to view the constellations like never before. A highlight was being able to view Saturn and it's rings. It looked almost fake as we viewed it under the telescope but we were assured it was real.

We also spent an afternoon visiting Laguna Cejar, a salt lake where we could enjoy a chilly dip in the incredibly salty water. Floating in the lake was a surreal experience for both of us, we had to make sure not to put our heads under as the high concentration of salt would damage them. This was followed by a more exhilarating jump into a fresh water pool to wash the salt off. We've uploaded the video so you can witness the shrieks and yelps as we plunge into the freezing cold water!

Other highlights included a visit to a very run down deserted swimming complex. something between hi-di-hi and a zombie apocalypse set. It took us a minute or ten to even dip a toe in the creepy looking water but once we did we enjoyed the calm and peaceful waters. It was the perfect way to relax before our longest bus ride yet, a mammoth 23 un-catered journey to Santiago the capital of Chile.