Hi everyone,

After a long 17 hour bus ride we arrived in the little town of san pedro. As we walked towards the hostel it actually felt like we had stepped into a cowboy movie...all we were waiting for was the sheriff to appear from around the corner. With dusty streets and little houses with different coloured shutters surrounded by mountains it really is as though we have stepped into a different world to santiago or la serena. That´s one of the great things about this trip though- no day is ever the same!

Our room has a bamboo straw like roof so hoping it isn´t going to rain. But I don´t think it because since we have been here the skies haven´t seen a cloud and the sun has been shining brightly. Yesterday we decided to all go sandboarding, which was quite bizare as only a few days previously had we been skiing. Again here the views were amazing, but instead of snowy moutains we saw dry desert mountains and what you would imagine the moon to look like. We gradually all got the hang of it but there was a lot of screaming and falling over involved. I for one suffered a very painful wedgy on one of my tumbles and many got a mouthful of sand. Even 72 year old Tom had a go and really got the hang of it. He has bascially been travelling since his wife died and is the first to get up and dance when we are all out- a definate inspiration to us all and makes me realise it realise is never too late to travel!!

Once we had enough sand in our bras/pants/ears we visited the moon valley where we saw the sunset and watched the andes change colour as the sun descending. We finished our little trip by running down a sand dune- feeling as free as a bird. Where Matt fell and rolled all the way down the hill like a snowball!

Having showered and de-sanded ourselves we went to a little cafe where it literally felt like we were sat in someones kitchen. Here we had amazing food for an amazing price. 3 pounds for a plate ful of salmon, salad and papas (potatoes). We are going back there tonight :-)

We ended the night in a bar with an central open fire drinking too strong caprianas and other cocktails bonding ever more with the other members of the group! Today we decided to have a lazy day recovering from last night and sat in the sun reading anf listening to music, especially seeing as tomorrow we start our trip to the salt flats where the temps are going to be -25 at night.

Thats all for now amigos. ciao x