The bus from Salta was a long and arduous affair that began at 7am and finally ended 11 hours later. We bad to wait a couple of hours at the border while the Chilean authorities tried to fine other passengers for heinous crimes – such as trying to smuggle an orange.

The scenery en route was pretty spectacular and although the journey was a struggle, it could have been far worse.

When we got on the bus there were a couple of gut wrenching moments. Incident number one: a Brazilian youth with a banjo. That could have ended with a banjo out of the window but mercilessly senhor gap yah only played for a short period of time before falling asleep. Incident two: an Austrian girl with the runs. Again we were lucky as there didn’t seem to be too much movement from behind (if you’ll pardon the pun).

We arrived into San Pedro and began making our way towards our hostel. From behind us came a shout of “Michael” and we turned to see our hostel owner jogging towards us. A lovely man who had been to University in Brisbane and ran Casa Lascar with his wife and daughter:

Abi’s Rating: 7/10 – No breakfast…shared bathroom, bedroom was really cosy. Enjoy the challenge of a 4 min shower.

Mike’s Rating: 8/10 – Great host, lovely little place. Points off for no brekky and a little way out of town.

Richie’s Rating: 8/10 – Friendly and helpful host, shower a bit cold but probably down to user error.

As you can see we have employed a new member in the ratings team. Welcome aboard Dad, you have officially gatecrashed the honeymoon!

A massively important addition to the squad though as he brought dairy milk, squashies, key t-shirts that had been left and most importantly (if you are Abigail) a travel hair dryer. (Although Dad was the mule obviously the credit goes to Mumma Dot).

Dad had endured 3 flights (London – Rome, Rome – Santiago (although this was business class) and Santiago – Calama) and we were tired after the bus so we only really had time to meander into the town of San Pedro for a quick bite to eat before crashing.

The second day was business day and so we set off in search of some information regarding tours. After an hour or so of gathering we stopped to take stock in a little cafe where we enjoyed a lovely breakfast.

Father and I were left to close the deals so Abi could have a bit of peace. We had to withdraw swathes of cash as the tour companies avoid taxes card machines.

We returned to the hostel with 3 trips in the bag:

Tour de Chile

Our first activity took place that afternoon and involved a group of 9. One Spanish girl, 3 French girls, the three of us and 2 Chileans (one real guide and one work experience).

At the ripe old age of 24 I was the second oldest tourist so shout out to the old fella who held his own throughout.

We had been promised a bike ride that was different to all others with a “secret sunset location” included in the package.

The ride itself was fantastic (although I had done the exact same route almost 4 years to the day with my Irish friend Niamh), with the scenery just as I had remembered it.

We weaved our way through narrow canyons that reminded Dad and I of the siq in Petra.

After an hour and a half of riding it was time to ditch the bikes and hike to the top of a very steep hill so that we could enjoy breathtaking panoramic views. On one side mountains and the Licancabur volcano on the other terrain that gives gravitas to the name “Valle de la Luna”.

This was a fairly tricky ascent but Dad and Abi got there in the end…

The downward journey was much easier and we raced back through the canyon before heading off in search of that secret sunset spot.

In all fairness it was a cracking spot that saw us perched on rocks that overlooked the city of San Pedro. We even enjoyed some bread (yay), the others had wine (fine but we abstained) and some chose to smoke (crass).

Sadly it was a little cloudy so we did not get the best sunset but as we rode home, the fading sun gifted us with an incredible illumination of the clouds to our right.

Laguna Cejar

We spent the next morning recovering from our cycling exploits and doing a spot of shopping for our Salt Flat Tour (trip 3).

Todays entertainment did not commence until 4pm and we took the short bus ride to Laguna Cejar.

This salt lake used to be an important breeding ground for Flamingos but they have only just started returning to the lake after it was closed to the public 5 years ago.

Instead, we had the opportunity to have a little float in the lake next door (Laguna Tebinquiche). It is quite a funny feeling to just sit in the water and let the high salt content do the work.

Showering ourselves off afterwards was a far less relaxing affair as the high winds caused the shower water to fly off at a tangent.

While we waited for some Latinas from our group (5.45 and 6.15 are pretty much the same if you think about it) we enjoyed some crisps, guacamole and some exquisite pineapple juice. On a side note Abi is really enjoying the number of avocados on show and the relatively low cost!

All the other tour buses had departed half an hour earlier, but we just about managed to make it in time for a wonderful twighlight stroll along the shores of another lake.

Tonights sunset was fabulous and probably the best of the trip thus far…

There was just enough time left in the day to have a spot of dinner before helping a stranded German tourist. He had split up from his friend earlier in the day as the aforementioned friend had his bag stolen at the bus station in Calama.

I shepherded him into our hostel and managed to call a taxi (chilean spanish really is awful). As I put him into a rather dodgy looking car 15 minutes later, I hoped that he would reach his Air BnB in one piece!

Next stop Bolivia and a three day tour of the altiplanic lagoons and the Salar de Uyuni.

#WhatOddsPaddy

Father has integrated well into the group and will act as a referee for the next couple of weeks. We should be alright as long as he has VAR.

Current Divorce Odds: More chance of a smooth South American election.