Today we were jarred awake by our alarm at 4 AM. We bundled up to prepare for our trip to 4100 meters (13,500 ft) above sea level to see the El Tatio geothermal field. Our transport arrived at 4:30, and we arrived at the geyser field around 6 AM. The view of the steam coming up with the mountains in the background was stunning.

There were so many geysers! We walked around to all of the different ones, and our guide explained more about the area and the geothermal activity. After our first little walk, we took a break for some hot breakfast- they actually cooked us eggs in the parking lot! The hot coffee and tea were also welcome, as the temperature was just below freezing. Afterwards, we headed out again for a stroll along some different geysers, including the oldest one (you can tell from the size of the cone) and a couple mud baths. This is usually the part of the tour where the sun comes up, but unfortunately, it was cloudy the day that we went, so the sunrise wasn’t as spectacular as usual. We still thoroughly enjoyed the scenery though.

We all returned to the bus and headed over to the next stop, to see more geysers and swim in a natural hot spring! We tried to take a picture of the source of the hot water, but it was so steamy you can’t really see.

Back on the bus again to start the trip back home. We made multiple stops along the way. First stop was at a wetland area with a nice panoramic view of the mountains.

Next we stopped to take a look at some llama.

We also paused to take a look at a vizcacha on the side of the road. It was a super cute rodent that looks like the combination of a bunny rabbit and a rat. Alejandro managed to snag a great picture through his binoculars!

We also paused at a lake with a ton of flamingos.

Last stop was a very old cactus “forest”. We hiked down to the area and also stopped by a waterfall. These cacti only grow a couple centimeters every year, so they are about 500 years old!

Here we were also introduced to the plant called Rica Rica. It is an herb that can be used to make tea, sauces, or ice cream, or even infuse Pisco. Later that day it had made it’s way into our pisco sours…

All of this, and we still made it back to our hostel around 1 PM. At 3, we headed back into town to catch the Tours4Tips of the town (like we also did in Santiago and Valparaiso). Our guide talked about the history of the region and the native people, and we walked around parts of the city that we had not seen previously.

After the tour, we relaxed for a while in the hostel before heading out to dinner. Alejandro had Tuna with Rica Rica sauce and Cassie had Chicken with a Mushroom sauce. For dessert was a dulce de leche mousse. We also tried pisco sours infused with the rica rica plant (as shown before), which were delicious. To finish out our time in San Pedro, we ended up ordering a cocktail called Terremoto (Earthquake). We had been recommended to try this almost since the day we arrived since it’s something many of the locals drink. The cocktail involves sweet white wine, grenadine, and topped off with pineapple ice cream. The idea is after you drink this, or 2, when you finally get up from you chair, the floor beneath you might feel like you’re in a terremoto (especially since traditionally, they are served in full 1L glasses)!

After this we caught a 9pm bus that should leave us in the coastal town of Iquique.