We started off with a tour to the Valle de Arcoiris – the Rainbow Valley. Carlos picked us up and the five of us left San Pedro early in the morning. The Valle de Arcoiris is a spot where many minerals are on a very limited and condensed space which results in an ocean of different colours on very small small space. It’s a mixture of tectonical plate movement and the creation of volcanoes. You can only visit the valley when it’s dry – during rain you can experience very dangerous flash floods in the narrow canyons.

 

 

 

 

 

The entire valley under runs massive erosion as well. Wind, sand and water cut deeper and deeper through the valley and create amazing rock formations – super espectacular!!

 

obligatory head-stance…

 

After we left this unique spot again we stopped at the Petroglyphs.

We had dinner at the local carritos – good and cheap food.

We explored the city for a bit more. San Pedro is a nice little town. It’s main focus is on all touristy attractions for sure and most of the shops are souvenir shops or tour operators. But they managed quite well to build the town in an authentic style of clay buildings. Definitely a place to spend a few days.

Then we said good bye to Fernando who continued to Iquique up north. Next day for us started really chilled and with a good breakfast. Since there was again a yellow warning due to a coming rain front which in this area is a) very rare (1-2x year) and b) since the ground is mainly clay the water does not sink in but runs down the mountains into the valleys – apparently even 2mm of rain can become a serious problem. We saw the city preparing for that by creating dams and ditches to guide the water through the city. Also tours would not be possible for a few days why we decided to head up to the coast of Chile at Iquique as well. So we organised bus tickets and prepared for another night in an overnight bus – the Chileans say Bolivien is Chile 40 years. And when it comes to Organisation Chile is definitely the better organised place!

so we decided to head out to the Valley de la Luna. A great idea to go on a bike ride during the hottest time of the day in a desert 😂 After the first four kilometres we had to stop to pay the entrance fee. Our bikes were not the best and the chains were grinding. So we asked the gus if they had oil by chance and they really came back with car engine oil! So we pimped the bikes but I had to find out that my bike’s brakes were jammed and grinded – extra effort in this heat…

 

We walked through a couple of caves and continued to massive sand dunes and view points.

 

But we got afraid of coming back too late so we returned at one point of time and head back to town. Definitely worth a visit!

 

And now we are in the bus to Iquique! Good night 😴