San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

We don't want to talk about the journey. 26 hours, nuff said.

So, we're in the middle of nowhere, in the driest desert in the world. Yet despite the dust and lack of water, it's absolutely beautiful and it's best place on Earth to see the stars!

The temperature contrasts massively between day and night, when it plummets from 27C to -15C. One (very Chile) evening we went right into the middle of the desert to a local astronomer's house to learn about the stars and the sky before gazing at them through his ten huge telescopes. The night's sky was the clearest we´d ever seen and the sky was FULL of twinkling stars! He took amazing pictures of the moon with our cameras, but Jo went one better and managed to get a pretty snap of Saturn too! Afterwards we sat round and drank hot chocolate as he explained why we won't be visited by extra terrestrials any time soon (sorry dad!)

The next day we took a trip to Valle de Lunas (valley of the moons) and a local guide explained the complex geology of Chile and the Andes by drawing us diagrams in the sand! He took us to loads of impressive viewpoints (including Death Valley!) where we saw where the mountains that divide Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The best bit was when we saw the sun go down over the mountains, watching the sky turn from blue, to orange, to pink to purple within a matter of minutes... 

4am the next morning we were on our way high into the mountains to catch the volcanic Tatio Geysers at their most active as the sun rises. It completely exceeded our expectations - huge fountains of steam and boiling water shooting into the air around us from cracks in the ground. We were then given the opportunity to bathe in some natural pools that were heated by the lava below. The water was 40C but outside it was -10C. Regardless, Sam braved the elements and took a dip, only to lose all his man points when he screamed like a girl when he got out! Jo had to hold out a towel and help him get dry quickly before he turned blue.

Our last day coincided with Fiesta de San Pedro, an annual festival where the town celebrates its history with colourful processions through the streets. A great way to finish our time in Chile!