Calama

A 3-hour flight to Calama (check the video; Calama has the smallest airport ever In the middle of nowhere – crazy stuff) and an hour-long bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama brought us to what people would describe as a desert town.

Locals have capitalized on San Pedro being a hub for travellers, and there are some really nice restaurants and hotels—though some might say it’s a bit too touristy.

On the bus (airport transfer), we met a German girl named Silca (I hope I spelled that right because she got the address to visit this site). Silca had booked a hostel, and since we had nothing planned, we told the bus driver to drop us there as well.

We headed to the town centre for dinner. The food was nice, but there were so many tourists that it felt like we were on an all-inclusive package holiday.

The next day, we had to get to the tour office to catch a bus to the Bolivian border, where we’d start a 3-day 4x4 drive across the salt flats of Bolivia, ending in Uyuni.

We were supposed to be at the tour operator’s office by 08:00, but we took our time and didn’t arrive until 08:15, only to find that the bus had already left. Panic set in since we’d organized (and paid for) this trip months ago, and rebooking would be a nightmare.

Don’t ask me how, but it took one laptop searching for WiFi, two mobile phones, the help of a Chilean elderly couple, Xavier’s and Dora’s limited Spanish, a random pick-up truck that appeared out of nowhere, some crazy driving skills, a near-crash experience, and a lot of positive attitude to track down someone from the tour office and convince them to ask the 4x4s to wait for us at the border while the local guy very kindly offered to get us there.

We arrived a bit late, but we made it.

Three days of no showers, driving in a hot and dusty environment, and constant altitude sickness—this is what you endure to experience some of the best natural scenery in the world.

When (and if) we make it to the other end, I’ll let you know if it was all worth it.