Very tired, we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama (‘San Pedro’) bus station at noon, after a challenging night journey by bus across the Andes, crossing the Jama Pass at 4208m. San Pedro, 2448m.a,s,l., archaeological capital of Chile being an important centre of pre-Inca culture, is set on an arid high plateau in the Andes mountains of North-Eastern Chile, surrounded by dramatic landscape including desert, salt flats, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs.Exiting bus station, we quickly found a taxi, and soon located our hotel, on the outskirts of town – our base for four nights. Marilyn unpacked and Alf went out exploring, looking for a very much needed laundry and supermarket for bottled mineral water. After our complimentary ‘Pisco Sour‘, a few glasses of wine, an early night followed an enjoyable meal.

7am we were picked-up for a tour to Rainbow Valley, sharing our guide/driver…