Log Sixty Five – Thermal Pools at 4500 metres

20 November 2019

This would be the earliest start on this whole trip. We were on the road by 4.45am headed for a geothermal area some 80 kms north east of San Pedro. San Pedro is at an altitude of 2400 metres which we were almost used to. We were now headed for 4500 metres to see the geysers and to enjoy a breakfast ‘in the field’.

The road surface to the geothermal field would be very familiar to any Australian who has ventured into the outback. This road is heavily corrugated however unlike Australian outback roads the unguarded drop on the side of the road was something to behold. Atacama desert

The reason for such an early start was to see these geysers and the steam they produced in the cool morning and before the rising sun heated the surrounding air. It was cold at this altitude before sun rise but as soon as the sun broke over the mountains the temperature instantly rose to the point jackets were removed, beanies pocketed and gloves discarded.

After wandering around the geysers and getting annoyed at seeing the footprints left by careless and ignorant visitors we enjoyed our high altitude breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee. This would be the highest altitude at which I have ever enjoyed a meal. I was however quick to discover breathing, chatting and enjoying a coffee are not necessarily compatible at these heights. You have to choose whether to breath or eat. The choice means there is much breathlessness and some gasping.

We are told all of the mountains we can see are dormant volcanoes. There are however the odd active volcano identified by steaming fumaroles. It seems Chile has 2,000 volcanoes some of which have been quiet for 25,000 years. We didn’t feel under threat during our breakfast and we were overwhelmed by the views.

From the geysers we headed back to Calama but via a different route that would allow us to see more of the Atacama desert along with many of its unique inhabitants. On these mountains, covered in tussocks and low scrub, we were tantalised with glimpses of wild vicuña, guanaco, chinchilla and donkeys or burros for our Peruvian guide.