21 Dec

Days adrift. Click here to see our best and worst experiences so far.

5262

Number of flights. Click here to go to the itinerary page.

35

Bus, train and taxi rides. Click here to see all posts relating to transport. (56 posts)

185

Miles walked. Click here to see all posts relating to walking and trekking. (43 posts)

581

Countries visited. Click here to see what we think of them. (14 posts)

15

Number of species spotted. Click here to go to our wildlife page.

1157

Photos taken. Click here to go to the photo gallery. (105 posts)

13288

Rainy days. Click here to find posts relating to the weather. (50 posts)

63

Number of times scammed. Click here to read all about it! (2 posts)

1

Otters spotted. Click here to go to our website about otters: amblonyx.com

45

...two travellers in search of the world's wildlife

HOME> Chile> San Pedro touring

5 July 2011

San Pedro touring

We spent two solid days in San Pedro de Atacama and explored the area by horse and minibus. It’s an interesting area, but I’d have to say the Culpeo Fox was our unexpected highlight.

Our first expedition from San Pedro de Atacama was on horseback into the parched lands

$Maureen\'s horse was huuuuuge!$

The high point of our ride, literally, was this view over the Catarpe Valley

As you can see, the horses have seen the view a hundred times before and were not impressed

Later that day we toured the Valle de la Luna, a stark landscape which includes these vast deposits of solid salt, many metres thick

$The Valle de la Luna is also famous for rocks-that-look-like-things. Isn\'t it amazing?$

It was also very, very windy

But of course what we loved best were the Viscachas among the rocks

Nibble nibble nibble nibble nibble

Our final stop was Cactus Valley, so called because... well, duh

As the sun went down tourists from all kinds of tours gathered in one spot to watch the sunset

The desert hills and distant volcanoes turned all kinds of subtle and atmospheric colours, nigh impossible to capture on camera

Next day, horribly early, we were watching the sun rise over the El Tatio geyser field at -13C

$The geysers are not epic and unpredictable like Yellowstone, so it\'s possible to wander amongst the eerie plumes of smoke on the icy caldera$

Finally the sun cleared the mountains and the morning became just perceptibly warmer

Perhaps the strangest sight at El Tatio is this seemingly Victorian machine squatting apparently at random in the middle of nowhere - it was meant to generate electricity, but never worked

Elsewhere on the altiplano we saw Giant Coots paddling in water still thick with ice - brrrrr!

But the water was flowing in secret Viscacha Valley, where hot seeps made for nice paddling pools

The proximity of hot water and freezing air created some very strange formations of ice

This fellow has the most magnificent whiskers of all - surely the model for Fu Manchu

Also watching the Viscachas was this splendid Culpeo Fox, the second largest species of canine in South America

I think he realised that while we were hanging around he was unlikely to get a furry snack

We hiked a way down the valley and found a tumbling waterfall, startling in the middle of this bone-dry desert

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Tags: desert, wildlife

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