Bienvenido al desierto - Atacama

From Santiago we took a flight into the desert in the north of Chile. Wake up call at 04.30 in the night...Horror but worth it. We are in San Pedro de Atacama now, which is a town that thrives solemly on tourism. It is like a very small Las Vegas, Indian style. Out of nothing they founded this tourist place with nothing else than hostels, bars, restaurants etc. Very small, the roads are not paved, sand and more sand, the buildings are small and white with roofs of clay. It is well done though, spotless for a sandbox and it looks a bit like a village made for a movie scene. They have looked good at what a tourist desires and provided for this. Well done. In places like this you will find a lot of backpackers that never seem to leave. In the evening it gets very cold but the restaurants have those big ovens with fire and it all looks very cosey. We are going to Valle de la Luna today, tomorrow we will see flamingos and saltplains. The last day here we have to wake up at 04.00 to see the geysers and it will be 10 degrees below 0. Why am I doing this, you wonder? I wonder too, but apparantly it is such a spectacle that one cannot miss...You have to watch out not to step on a geyser. At least that will be warm..too warm probably. Most of you know that my co-ordination lacks some balance at times. And right now I am a bit feverish as well so I hope I keep my footsoles in place.