Atacama and beautiful Bolivia

In one of the driest places on the earth and it rained! Which made sandboarding even more fun:) Last chilean completo and it was time to go for another adventure. To cross the Bolivian altiplano to Uyuni, but in the rainy season. Our Swiss friends Fiona and Dominic had already done research and we decided to go with Cordillera travel. We were really lucky having a great driver, and shared the car with two very funny English guys, Luke and Alan. It was 3 days of fun, breathtaking scenery and some gasping for air for Katja:) We crossed geysers and lagoons all at 3000-5000m.

Our words and pictures can't do justice to the beauty of this place! Come and see it for yorself!

Aja, končno sva našla sva kraj kjer je Lux hitrejši od Katje ::)) nad 3000m. 

Hostal Sonchek- Slovene owned in San Pedro de Atacama!

horseriding around San Pedro

sandboarding

we were in town at time of religious celebration

Chile-Bolivia border at 4000m

we saw LOTS of flamingos

thermal bath at more than 4000m

geysers

this is where we stayed the first night (cca 4500m)

Laguna Colorada

a storm just passed us

flamingos in Laguna Colorada

sleeping bag + 2 bed covers and feeling a bit 'altitude' sick; good we had doctor Jaime to help me :)

getting ready to go

 Coca Cola is everywhere

 vicuñas

 ´men in black´ supporting Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree)

our group with driver Omar 

 lunch time

 they moved this church stone by stone because of the mine

 llamas

 crazy rock formations

 train 'graveyard'

 Salar de Uyuni in the rainy season

 

Santiago, Chile

Santiago wasn´t on our itinerary at first, but I´ve listened since I was a kid that we have some family in Chile (my grandmother´s brother´s side who immigrated to Chile). We finally made the contact over facebook with some help of google translate J and decided to cross the impressive Andes from Mendoza to Santiago on a day bus (very recommended). We were warmly welcomed by my family and felt like at home. It was really exciting to have a family dinner and meet them all. They showed us around Santiago, Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. We tasted some typical Chilean food: completo (10xbetter than our boring hot-dog), Chilean empanadas (even Anthony Bourdain liked them), pastel de choclo (something like polenta with some sugar added), paila marina, energizing mote con huesillo and last but not least ˝chilean˝ pisco sour. After spending great three days we took a 23-hour bus to San Pedro de Atacama (sitting in first row of the upper deck makes time run faster).

back to Chile

W hotel in Santiago

 in business district parks are full of peple during lunch break

 together with relative Paula

there are sculptures on every step

newly opened Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral

Museo de Bellas Artes

Plaza de Armas

 together with Luka´s newly found South American family

 there are many private universities, this one was just beafore opening

Centro Cultural Palacio de la Moneda (under the plaza)

a great day in Valparaiso

 one of many grafities

 Luka at Lukas´s house (famous Chilean caricaturist)

 model for sale

 old electric Trolebus

 power of Pacific in Viña del Mar

at delicious empanadas place in Concon

 ???

sunset, just beafore arriving to San Pedro de Atacama