I'd set my alarm for 3:30am as I was being picked up for a tour of the El Tatio geysers at 4am! I dressed in 8 layers of clothing on top, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of socks and a hat, scarf and gloves - I'd been warned about the extremely cold weather out there! We were on the road after picking up sleepy travellers from other hostels and starting our ascent to the geysers. Our guide warned us that we were travelling from around 2500m altitude to 4200m altitud...

I woke up late and was feeling un poco (a little) worse for wear after the previous night. So, I used the morning to catch up on admin and write blog entries. After lunch I walked into town to visit the church. It's a colonial adobe building with lovely cactus wood rafters inside. I then visited the museum which was really interesting. It had lots of information about the geography of the region and it went in chronological order through the way of life of the...

I had a bit of a lie in - didn't realise how tired I was from my night bus - before walking into town to meet Jenny for lunch. I browsed some of the market stalls and then we headed to lonely planet's top choice restaurant for a bite to eat. At 3pm we headed on a tour of the nearby Valle de la Luna (moon valley). The three others from my hostel that we'd been drinking with the night before, Ryan, Lena and Ketz, were also on the same tour. We drove out of town an...

My supposed 22hr bus from Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama turned into a 26hr ride due to a mechanical fault with our bus but eventually I arrived. I got a bit lost but found my hostel in the end. First impressions were that San Pedro seemed very nice, narrow dusty streets, white adobe buildings and lots of stalls selling knitted jumpers, scarves and other artesanal handicrafts. After a shower I went into town to meet Jenny (friend from Brazil) for a catch up. W...

When I was on the day tour of the island I'd chatted to Jess (American girl) about possibly hiring a car for my last day to return to my favourite sites on the island. She was really keen to share it and come with me. I woke early and picked her up in town at 6:20am and we drove out to Ahu Tongariki, the site with 15 moai. We'd been told that watching sunrise here was a must do. We stood with other spectators and watched as the sky gradually lightened, a backdr...