The Desert! - San Pedro de Atacama -part 1

So, the driest desert in the world. Apparently the Spanish set up a weather station about 450 years ago to check how much rain there is. The poor guys are still waiting!
"Plastic San Pedro", "Gringo Town", both epithets used to describe San Pedro de Atacama but, would you believe it, we both loved it! yes it is a bit of a creation and yes, most local people who live there service the influx of tourists (from all over including Chile, Peru & Bolivia) but when you compare it to Miraflores in Lima (see later section on Lima) at least it has some character. We'd rather stay in a sanitised 'adobe village environment' than a MacResort that is effectively an open-air US shopping Mall (c/w all possible junk food joints!)

So anyway, I've got that off my chest- San Pedro, as described, is a village (a literal oasis) with 2 banks (with differing  ATMs Maestro or Visa ); with dust tracks rather than metalled roads;Adobe walled buildings with inner gardens; a beautiful main square all whitewashed c/w christmas tree; a huge variety of places to eat, rent adventure gear, or book tours. It was generally very laid back, had very little traffic. The TWO bars closed at midnight and most hostels had a silence requirement by about 11.00 p.m ( I can hear the groans now!).
Our hostel had a quiet policy and was an extremely relaxed place with courtyard and garden (with hammocks!). Most rooms had a little porch with table and chairs outside the door. we often sat there along with the hostal cat which had immediately adopted us (it quickly learned the rules of where it was allowed to be - Anne's not keen on cats and I'm a little allergic to them).

The garden

Hostel christmas lights!

Our room was cosy and onlyhad one bedside light as apparently we're the only people in the world who read in bed!!!! (reference to many places we've stayed in not just Chile!!!!) howevr, it was a really nice place to stay.
We decided to have the first day taking it easy (as trips/holidays can be quite tiring   ; )   ) and then, as Anne was chomping at the bit, book some tours.

At this point we need to point out that at 2,500+ metres, we were at the highest altitude of the trip so far and, although we were below the magic figure of 3,000, we were both experiencing minor bouts of breathlessness. So we were a bit wary of the fact that our first tour from here was up to 3,000+ and was going to be a bit active.