Tl;dr Woke up early for a tour to Piedras Rojas and had breakfast on the Tropic of Capricorn, explored mountain ranges and salt flats, pit stops and photo opps, lunch, saw flamingos, dinner at Jardin Meraki – 6 activities; 15,939 steps
For those that don’t know – the temperature can fluctuate considerably across morning, evening, and elevation. For a tour that picks you up at 6:30am, you are going to need some warm clothes (but also bring comfortable clothing to change into). This tour, because of the altitude and wind, requires some warm clothing and maybe even a wind breaker.
Also, you ABSOLUTELY NEED SUNSCREEN. The sun is very strong in the Atacama desert and the wind can do a number on your skin (so moisturizer is smart too).
My hostel had a bagged breakfast ready for me when I woke up. It consisted of juice, yogurt, a sando with cheese, and a snack. I stashed the breakfast since I wasn’t hungry yet (I was likely 80% still asleep). The tour bus picked me up at the hostel making it super easy. One point to note, the pickup time is variable within a 30minute window (depends on where the patrons are located and the optimal route to pick everyone up).
Activity 1 – Tropic of Capricorn and Inca Trail
About an hour in, we made our first stop. The tour guide explained that we had stopped at a junction of the Inca Trail and the Tropic of Capricorn. He gave us about 15 minutes to explore and take pictures while he prepared breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bread, cheese, meat, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and snacks. (I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy eating and taking pictures).
We got back on the road to continue climbing higher and higher through the mountain passages.
Activity 2 – Salt Flats
We reached the Salt Flats and began some super light hiking. I was definitely feeling the altitude a bit, but not as much as others. By this point, I had started chatting with a few other people from the tour and continued to chat as we made our way to the various lookout points. I found myself out of breath just from chatting with people.
We took in the scenery and took a bunch of pictures. Really amazing views.
We also tried to take a group photo of all of us jumping…only took 3 takes to get it right. Not sure it was the smartest picture to take at altitude, but we got some good laughs and fun photos.
Activity 3 – A Bunch of Pit Stops and Photo Opps
Just great stuff…see the photos below.
Activity 4 – Lunch
Our tour guide set up a great spread for us…see picture below.
Activity 5 – Salt and Flamingos
Another pit stop and more salt, sights, and flamingos. After this we started our final trek back to San Pedro De Atacama.
Activity 6 – Dinner at Jardin Meraki
Once we got back, I watched some World Cup soccer (the very end of the game) and then went back to shower and relax. I picked a ‘nicer’ restaurant for dinner: Jardin Meraki. It has a cool vibe and cute dogs walking around. Had a bruschetta trio and grilled eggplant. Cool place, decent food.
After dinner, it was time for bed because I had another early morning coming up.
Andrew's Activities 