It is absolute bliss to arrive at Awasi in San Pedro de Atacama for my second visit. Pure luxury by this stage is a shower that works, a comfortable pillow and a bed that is not made up for minus 10 degrees when it is 27 degrees in the room. I actually managed to sleep for a solid six hours last night, a vast improvement on the two hour stretches in Bolivia due to (bizarrely) it being too hot in the hotels I was staying in.
This morning is a visit to Puritama thermal springs, which I have never visited before, but is now on my must-visit list for future trips. Puritama is made up of 7 thermal pools fed by a running river of hot water. It is reasonably busy, so I end up in the 7th and coolest pool, at the end of the complex. It proves to be a good choice, as the waterfall is at its strongest here, and provides an excellent, relaxing, warm water pummelling for the back and shoulders.
It isn’t until this afternoon that I realise it there is a time difference of 1 hour between Bolivia and San Pedro. I’ve been an hour late for everything since I arrived, and Pierre has been too polite to tell me I’ve been late for everything. Mortifying.
One of the reasons I have been to San Pedro three times is that I can’t get a sunset photo that I am happy with. Pierre and I hike through Moon Valley from an abandoned salt mine to a vantage point up on a very windy ridge, which puts the tripod I have lugged along on the hike to the test. Pierre is a mountaineering trainer, and by definition very fit, and the only place I feel like I can maintain the pace he sets is on level ground, which is rarity in Moon Valley. On descents and ascents he leaves me for dead. After three hours of hiking, following a relaxing morning, I am sure I will sleep well tonight. And I still don’t have a sunset shot that I am happy with.
