I arrived in San Pedro at about 9.00 am. Even though it is a small place it took me a while to find my hostel. It was a bit away from the main part of the town.

After checking in, I headed off into the town. The main street consisted of restaurants, some outdoors shops, a couple of mini markets and dozens of tour operators offering trips across the Atacama Desert into Bolivia.

Lots of Tour Operators

There were a lots of fellow travellers wandering up and down the streets checking out the prices offered by the various operators.   I ran into a Dutch girl and her Mexican boyfriend who had been on two of the buses I was on travelling from Santiago. Despite her tender age, she was a seriously skilled traveller. She seemed to be conversant in many languages, including English, Spanish, German and French. She and boyfriend had already collected the details of five of the operators and their prices. They were heading off to check some more before going back to their hostel to look at the reviews for each operator on TripAdvisor.

I went to operator that the Manager at the hostel recommended. They were only slightly more expensive than the operators that the Dutch girl had investigated, so I decided to book with them.

Moon Valley

In the afternoon I look a short tour to the Moon Valley. It was only a few kilometres from town, but very spectacular. The tour ended with a view of the sunset. The change in the colours of the landscape as the sun went down was pretty amazing.

Hostel

I had a really good night’s sleep back in the hostel. You really appreciate a good bed after an overnight bus ride.

In the morning I had excellent breakfast offered by the hostel. Unfortunately I could only stay in this hostel for one night due it being fully booked. That was no surprise as it was really good. When I checked out, I had a long chat with the manager. She told me that she had worked with the owner to make the hostel the best in town.

As you can see from the Flickr photos the building in San Pedro are very ‘third world’. However these guys have managed to establish a really good hostel. The bathroom and toilets are spotlessly clean, the beds are good and the breakfast is excellent with fresh fruit, yoghurt and cereals. These are simple ideas that make that a difference.

Even though I had checked out, I was able to stay in the hostel to do some stuff on the internet (albeit it was slow – no fault of the hostel) and write up some of my blog.

Changed Hostel and Early Night

In the afternoon, I headed into town to a new hostel. I was a very strange place. I posted a picture of it on Facebook and got some interesting comments.

I had a late lunch in a very good restaurant. As I left, I look a video. It gives an indication of the remarkable contrast of the interiors and exteriors of the buildings.

Some Adventure Bikes

As walked back to my hostel I came across some BMW GS’s. They are very good, however, I am still looking at Triumph Tigers. My Canberra host take note.

I had an early night as I was due to leave for Bolivia before dawn the next morning.

Flickr Link

https://www.flickr.com/photos/twwilko_photos/sets/72157651511000623