Day 6: Atacama to Ramaditas

Today’s agenda was an early wake-up call at Explora Atacama followed by a drive across the border into Bolivia heading north to the Ramaditas Mountain Lodge. The drive takes about eight hours, including a few stops. No problem! However, when we met Carlos and Nico, they told us that the border control office was closed and we would need to go to the downtown Atacama location to get our papers checked and stamped. We arrived at about 7:15am, and waited in line with the other tour groups until they opened at 8am.

What’s worse, Chilean border control or gloom hands?

We finally stepped up to the window at 9:20am and got the all-clear to proceed. Matt was ready to contribute a blog rant about Bolivia’s continued efforts to kill our time trying to get into the country, but as it turns out, this one was on Chile. We believe they closed their (indoor) border control due to “high winds.” After departing San Pedro de Atacama, it was a 40 minute drive to the border.

“Goodbye, thanks for nothing!” – Carlos

We said goodbye to our Atacama team and met our new guide, Oscar, and driver, Abel. Oscar helped us get our entry stamps and show the friendly Bolivian officials all the right paperwork in all the right places. Finally – three and a half hours after leaving – we were in Bolivia!

Bolivia, what more do you want from us?!?!

This part of Bolivia is located within the Andes mountains, a volcanic range. Our first stop was at Laguna Blanca. The lagoon is white due to the boron deposits. This area is also interesting because the rocks show both underwater coral and volcanic basalt. Other tourists not from the Midwest looked amazed to be walking on the frozen lake.

Checking out the basalt and coral

But Ice skates were not on the packing list!

Next stop was Laguna Verde, appropriately named for its green color. The bacteria in this lagoon is green and becomes more vibrant with the sun and wind. A little later down the road, we stopped at an area called Salvador Dali mountain. We did not see melting watches, but we did see a variety of colors and vast spaces.

Rocks and green lake with Oscar

Desert road, take me home

Warping to the desert level (Chalviri Hot Springs)

We then drove into Sal de Mañana, a caldera on an active volcano. We saw fumaroles, which are vents that release gas and steam. Unlike geysers that need time to refill and erupt, the pressure release of a fumarole is constant. We walked around many fumaroles of different sizes and bubbling.

Watch out for fumaroles

The final stop was Laguna Colorada, commonly known as Red Lagoon due to its – you guessed it – red color. Similar to Laguna verde, the color is caused by the type of bacteria that thieves in extreme conditions. This is also where three types of flamingoes live. We walked along the shore and then stopped for lunch.

These flamingoes are not stuck… yet

Our lunch stop next to Laguna Colorada

Lunch with a view

All sorts of colors in this area

Atacama parking lot

With another two hours of desert to cross before reaching our final destination, Oscar and Abel appointed us DJs. With this vital task, we turned to the two best playlists on Matt’s phone — Adam and James’ high school playlists. Oscar and Abel are both ~40 years old, so it was a smashing success. Well done.

Dusty, dry road makes for dirty cars

Finally, we drove the last hour and half to the very remote mountain lodge. The only people here are us, one other family of three (who will only be here tonight), the guides, drivers, and lodge staff. We all had dinner together (family style) before getting ready for the night.

Home for the next two nights

Room with a view — as always

As always, the internet may or may not be available over the next week. Keep checking back!

Day 5: Volcán Blanco

We left early again this morning to drive to the Volcán Blanco hike. Along the way, we stopped to see flamingoes. Because the temperature was below freezing last night and this morning, the water in their pond froze, and the flamingoes got stuck in the ice. As the temperature rises throughout the day, the ice melts and the flamingoes are free. Though they tend to repeat the cycle.

Sebastian makes killer playlists

Stupid Stuck Flamingoes

Ducks failing at sticking their head underwater

We continued up to the 4,000 meter in elevation range and made a stop to walk around geysers. We got to get up close to each one that were located in close range in a paved area and Carlos explained how geysers work.

Geysers steaming in the distance

More geology geeking out

Queen of the geysers

Just a hole in the ground with 190 degree water erupting out

Those rocks are definitely going to stop people from getting closer

After viewing all of the geysers, we drove a few minutes further to start the hike. The very first part was a 200 rise in elevation, only to go right back down. The downhill consisted of switchbacks on a fine gravel path all the way down about 500 feet. Located within the Andes Mountains, this area of geysers is the 3rd largest in the world, so we saw many geysers all along our route. We stopped at one that takes about 30 minutes to refill, hoping we wouldn’t have to wait too long. Luckily, we saw the eruption, which lasted a couple of minutes.

On the way down

You can see the switchbacks on the hill in the distance

Waterfall – Andes edition

The next pit-stop was for lunch. We found an area near a stream and enjoyed our soup, sandwiches, and canisters. Once we were full, we continued on to the next part of the hike.

A little climbing, a little shadows, a little geyser bacteria

We arrived at Volcán Blanco and learned that it is not an actual volcano, but a large hill with a geyser on top, which caused white deposits on the side of the hill. As we continued, we were out of geyser range, and into wildlife range.

Happy hikers

There was a large expanse of flat land with plants and streams. There were plenty of birds, vizcacha (similar to rabbits), and vicuña (similar to llamas) around, giving this area the nickname of Pumas’ Restaurant. Multiple herds of vicuña were all around the area, and we got very close to some as we passed. The vizacha were also abundant and sitting on the rocks along the edge of the water.

Sneaking up on the vicuñas

Climbed up for a better view

After 8 kilometers, we made it to the van and celebrated our last hike in Chile. Tomorrow we cross the border into Bolivia and will have to say goodbye to Carlos, Nico, and Sebastian as Bolivia only allows their citizens to work as tour guides and drivers. On the drive back, we ran into more road construction along the way.

Cheers!

Road paving trucks

At the hotel, the guide manager wanted to make sure we had all of our paperwork in line for the border crossing (we do) and had us fill out the customs form needed to enter (we did). We then had some free time to shop at the store one last time in search of any clothing with the Explora logo on it, fly the drone, and get a drink at the bar.

We leave early tomorrow to cross into Bolivia and to the first stop in Ramaditas. We may be without internet for about a week as we spend our nights in remote mountain lodges.

Day 4: Hot Springs & Rocks

This morning’s exploration was to Puritama in the region of Guatin. Since we were scheduled to leave at 7:30, we were able to catch the sunrise, the moon, and Jupiter before breakfast.

Good morning, moon

Both Carlos and Nico were our guides and Sebastian drove us to the trail head. We started with an ascent up a rocky path in a volcanic canyon and followed the Puritama river. Yes, there is a river in this desert sourced from geothermic springs. Along the way, we saw volcanic rocks, rica rica plants, fox tail plants, and cacti. We also saw rock structures that were animal corrals and tambos – shelter for people tending to the animals.

Pre-hike calisthenics

Everything the light touches is Explora’s

Desert views

Desert waterfall

We continued to ascend to 11,555 feet of elevation (958 of which were on the hike) and arrived at the Puritama Hot Springs. The entire area we hiked and the hot springs are part of Explora’s conservation reserve. Explora owns access to the hot springs and anyone can buy a ticket, so there were people in the 6 of the 8 pools. The final (and best, obviously) pool is reserved for hotel guests on this hike, so we had the hot spring to ourselves.

Of course, they also had snacks and drinks for us, which we enjoyed before getting in the hot spring. Carlos and Nico also told us about a Fanchop, a popular drink that is a combination of Fanta and a lager beer. With both ingredients available to us, we tried it and agreed it was very tasty.

Fanchop!

The hot springs are full of sodium sulfate waters, which has been known to ease arthritis, stress, and fatigue. We can agree, it was quite peaceful and relaxing.

Very peaceful and calming

Refilling our heart containers

Drying off and enjoying the heat of the sun

When our Survivor Reward ended, we took the van back to Explora. There was some road construction on the way back which created the most traffic I’ve seen here yet. There were like, 12 cars. Also this road is apparently already the “good road.”

view on the way back

Won’t somebody support President Hudson?!

Back at the hotel, we had a leisurely lunch and relaxed before our afternoon exploration of hiking in the volcanic Domeyko mountain range. This is a unique area as there is a combination of the older Salt Mountain Range geology of clay, salt, and gypsum, mixed with the younger Domeyko volcanic range with igneous rocks. The hike started just outside of a canyon that we hiked into. Throughout the entire hike, we saw evidence of the geologic history.

Welcome to Mars

Top to Bottom: Igneous volcanic mountain, Salt Mountain, river bed

Carlos explained that millions of years ago, a subduction zone with a magma chamber created the land, Then a plutonic intrusion pushed up the land to cause the hills, tilts in the land, and created new rocks. Also millions of years ago (but not quite as many) and this area was covered in water. Over time, erosion carved the canyon to what it is today. Finally, the canyon became the driest place on the planet and all of the water left behind dry waterfalls and riverbeds.

Just two geology nerds geeking out

Hey, Adam, it’s an Atacama waterfall

Bouldering down the canyon

We stopped multiple times along the way to look at cool rocks and admire the geology and view. The hike ended just as the sun was setting over the Atacama salt flats. We made our way back to the hotel for dinner and relaxation.

Heading back

Day 3: Horses & Bikes

Today was the day of rides — horseback riding and bike riding. But first, breakfast! We had our usual Explora breakfast of omelettes and cappuccinos to fuel up for the day.

Traditional Jo & Cappuccino picture

Our morning exploration was horseback riding. We met Carlos and walked over to the stables just outside the front door. After getting geared up and on our horses, we rode towards the salt mountain range. Our horses, Viola and Ooh La La were very gentle and well trained.

Giddyup up up up

Jo in her happy place

When we arrived at las Dunas de la Chula, at the base of the salt mountains, we stopped for some water and photo opportunities. We then continued up and down a ridge as we rode back toward San Pedro.

Everybody say “carrot”

Angel’s Landing – horseback style

Back at our room, we were surprised to learn that our backyard is also where the horses graze. This also explains our confusion yesterday when we found no stairs to the back yard.

Do you have horses in your backyard?

We had some time before our afternoon exploration, so we walked the 10 minutes into town. There is one main street with souvenir shops, restaurants, artist’s shops, and plenty of tour companies. We also found the church in the town center with its triangles on the walls to keep the spirits in.

Walking to town

Looks exactly like the magnet we bought.

After lunch, we met Nico to continue our day of riding things — this time mountain bikes. Leaving Explora, we rode north along the San Pedro River toward Catarpe. The first half was on gravel roads, then we reached the Devil’s Throat canyon, another part of the Salt Mountain Range (it’s pretty big). We rode a very fun route along the floor of the canyon to a lookout point, then took the same route back to Explora. This area had more gypsum than salt, which we could see in veins on the walls of the canyon.

You ready for this?

Watch out for boulders in canyon

Admiring the gypsum veins

Almost there!

We made it!

We made it back at sunset and confirmed our activities for tomorrow with Nico. We relaxed before dinner and went to sleep for our early start tomorrow.

The tables are the maps!!!

Day 2: Cordillera de la Sal

Our stay in Calama was not too eventful, but that was the point. Our pick up was at 10:30, so we had plenty of time to sleep in, get breakfast, and say goodbye to the Geotel. Our Explora driver was Sebastian who provided some fun facts about the area along the way, including so many Brazilians come to San Pedro de Atacama for vacation that they call it Sao Paulo de Atacama. Also, Sebastian’s playlist, top notch.

Leaving Goron City

On the road to San Pedro de Atacama

When we arrived, we toured the main building and scored an upgrade to a suite. Woo! We settled in for a few minutes, then met with Carlos and Nico, our two guides for the week. They gave us a short presentation about Explora and the area, then we picked our explorations for the week here in Atacama — starting with Cordillera del la Sal (Salt Mountain Range) hike for today. Before leaving, we had time for a very fresh and flavorful lunch and to get ready for the afternoon.

The room is pretty suite!

The view is volcanic

Sebastian drove us to the start of the hike where we walked around a flat area and learned about how you can tell the difference between gypsum and salt, both of which occur naturally in this area. For one, the salt is salty. Also, gypsum is very soft and can be scratched with your fingernail.

Venturing into the Salt Mountain Range

They’re minerals, Marie!

Rock salt candy…need those electrolytes

Mini hoodoo

We climbed up to a former salt mine with a half dome appearance. The mining of the salt here stopped when they realized there was no iodine in the salt, and it was too expensive to add it. Since we arrived a little before sunset as the temperature was cooling down, we sat down in silence to “listen to the salt,” which we originally thought was a joke, but turns out you can hear the salt contracting.

Heading to the salt mine

Listening to the salt

Onward!

From there, we walked up a ridge a little further for some good views. We stopped to watch the sunset and a 360 degree view of the area.

Desert lighting

Golden hour with us

Golden hour without us

For the final leg of the trip, we walked a bit further on the narrow ridge and ran (or shuffled) down a sand dune. We made it back with an incredible amount of sand in our shoes and smiles on our faces.

Angel’s Landing – Atacama style

We got back to the hotel and relaxed at the bar before dinner started. This location’s special pisco sour is made with rica rica, a local herb — so we obviously had to give it a try.

Your local pisco variation

After dinner, we met for an evening stargazing exploration. This part of Chile is a designated Dark Sky area due to its low light pollution, high elevation, and arid conditions. We were clearly able to see many stars and constellations as well as the Milky Way. Plus, an hour long talk about binary stars, red giants, nebula, globular clusters, and black holes. You know, cool astronomy stuff.

Day 1: Chicago to Calama

Starting in Chicago on Saturday, it took just a little over 24 hours to get to Calama. We left home following the usual routine: walk to bus, take bus to Blue Line, take Blue Line to O’Hare.

The first leg of our flight plan had a connection in Houston and we put our fancy lounge access right to work with dinner at Landry’s before heading to the international terminal.

Recurring Blog characters

First flight had to fly around some bad weather to land

On the next leg (Houston to Santiago), we were seated all the way in the back of the plane (row 50 of 51) for the almost 9 hour flight. Thankfully, we both were able to entertain ourselves and even sleep a bit on the flight.

When you have 9 hours to spare, why not save Hyrule?

Peasant class beverage service

Almost made it to Santiago

Touchdown was at 6am in Santiago where we collected our bags, headed across the airport outside and checked back in on the domestic side. When we were in the Santiago airport in 2019, it was packed and took 3 hours to get through the checkin line. At 6am it was… not crowded at all!

Santiago does still hold the record for the most amount of people full-on re-packing their bags in the checked luggage line. Also, the baggage drop was fully automated, so after printing our luggage tags at the kiosk, we then scanned tags ourselves, placed our bags on the belt, and hoped for the best!

I highly recommend traveling at 6am.

We had plenty of time before our flight to Calama, so we spent time in the Primeclass Condor lounge (fancy again!) eating some breakfast, taking some naps, watching some tennis, and drinking multiple lattes. When it was time, we went to the gate. I had originally bid about $35 to get an upgrade to first class (cause apparently that’s a thing now?) but our tickets said exit row 12. When we got to the gate, my name got called to the counter. Unfortunately, we got moved to row 24. But…

Turns out Row 24 is OK after all.

Coming in for landing at Calama

The flight was only about 2 hours. We collected our bags, which did — in fact — arrive after the self-scanning, and met our pre-arranged driver to take us to the hotel. We checked in at 2:00 and looked at interesting things to do in the area. Two miles away is the world’s largest (by excavation volume) open pit copper mine that looked cool, but since it was Sunday, they were closed. So, instead of exploring a strip mine, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying our welcome drinks (mango pisco sours), sharing a lunch (delicious cheeseburger), and acclimatizing to the altitude (napping).

Tap: Sacrifice Strip Mine to Destroy target land
Unlike previous conflicts, the war between Urza and Mishra made Dominia itself a casualty of war

We felt very welcomed

Picturesque sunset to end the day…Hey, where’s that girl with the Samsung phone?

To close out the night, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner and got ready for our 11-day Travesia with Explora to start tomorrow. They will pick us up in the morning and the real adventure will begin.

Getting Ready for Bolivia, etc

Continuing with our Explora streak, we decided to visit their last location that is still open in our summer. After a couple of flights, we’ll start in the Atacama desert in Chile for four nights. We will then take a car (with an Explora driver and tour guide) into Bolivia. Fun fact: US citizens need a visa to get into Bolivia which involves hoping for the best and getting the visa at the border, or going to one of the four consulates in the US, none of which are in Chicago. Spoiler alert — we got our visas ahead of time.

Once in Bolivia, we will stop in Ramaditas for one night, then Chituca for one night, and finally the Bolivian salt flats in Uyuni for 3 nights. We’ll say goodbye to Explora (until Spring break) and head to Brazil to see the Iguazu waterfalls. That is, assuming, the one of three flights a week leaving Uyuni is on time.

Don’t worry, detailed pictures are forthcoming

Wasting no time after the last day of school (today), we head out tomorrow for a little over two weeks. This time with airport lounge access!

Day 9: El Chaltén to Chicago

We woke up for our last day at Explora to a beautiful sunrise and moon-set – after a clear starry night. Since we were the only guest going to the airport, and because there was no noon airport pickup, we were able to leave at 9:30, giving us time for a leisurely breakfast. We sadly turned in our room keys and were ready to go.

Clear stars late last night

Last of the daily window shots – this one featuring the moon

Sad returning keys

When we left, we stopped in the town of El Chaltén to do some souvenir shopping. The season is ending and we arrived at about 10:15, so some of the stores were closed, such as Patagonicus, the liquor store/Harry Potter spell. Our driver, Santiago, took us to a shop that was open and we found shirts, glasses, and new fridge magnets to add to our collection. We also found bottles of Calafate juice (as promised by Mauro) and bought two to bring home – complete with ceramic shot glasses.

View of La Vuelta river on the way out

The only open gift shop

The two hour journey to the airport continued with a stop to take pictures of the perfectly clear Mt. Fitzroy. After about an hour, we took a quick break at Leona’s – the same restaurant we stopped at on the way in.

Checking out Mt. Fitzroy as we leave

Mountains for days

Leaving Fitz Roy road

Bye mountains

Calafate Airport is small, with only a few gates. We know it would be quick to check-in and get it the gate, but when we arrived we were too early to check in. We killed time by shopping in the airport gift shop where mom bought a guanaco shawl and Matt learned about the legend of the Calafate berry.

Layered hills on the way to the airport

Arrived at the airport and still sad to leave

After going around the line a few times, we were allowed to to check-in. At this point we were hungry for lunch and stopped at the one restaurant in the airport before going through security.

Happy for giant hamburger lunch

Finally, it was time to board the flight and officially leave Patagonia. Both boarding and the flight went smoothly and we landed in Buenos Aires with plenty of layover time to make our next flights.

Taking off at Calafate Airport…

… and heading to Buenos Aires

Dinner in Buenos Aires was courtesy of the Star Alliance lounge (Delta lounge didn’t let us in and is not off the hook yet). By the time we boarded and took off, it was about 11:30 pm and we all slept on the plane for the night.

Anyone need a cart

See ya, riff raff

Almost made it to Miami

We arrived in Miami and checked our bags in to our American Airlines flight to Chicago. Just some hanging out in the Corona Beach House “lounge” and a flight to Chicago to go.

Good Morning, Miami!

Easier than hiking

Day 8: El Filo

We woke up on our last full day in Explora with a view of fresh snow on the mountains. We knew it would be a bit colder today so we prepared with more layers. Jo and Matt were going to hike El Filo while Mom and Dad were heading to Laguna Condor. Since the hikes start very close to each other, we were able to share the van.

Let’s go to El Filo today

While Matt and Jo started on El Filo, Mom and Dad had an easy(ish) hike to Laguna Condor (a second time for Dad). They drove only about another 30 feet to their starting point, and walked along a narrow trail over the lake. They spotted black neck swans in the lagoon and learned about the three variety of wild orchids that grow in the forests. When they returned to the hotel Dad officially retired his 25 year old hiking boots.

Mom enjoys the hike to Laguna Condor

Dad points at his boots for the last time

Meanwhile, Jo and Matt, along with our guide Amelia, started the hike in Los Huemules Conservation Reserve, walking up along a ridge. It started with about an hour of hiking up 2,000 feet. There were amazing views as we got higher and higher. There were two Cara Cara birds hanging out in the trees who followed us for a while.

Trickiest part of the trail with rope to help

View of Laguna Azul and Matt’s shadow

Hiking along the ridge line

Cara Cara Bird buddies followed us for a while

When we reached the lookout at the top of the El Filo (meaning the edge), we saw a condor and a view of the Electric Valley from above. Rather than going back down at that point, we decided to continue along the ridge for another hour, and another 1,000 feet up and past the snow line to get a full 360 view of the area. We hiked up past the snow line and felt a few flurries. Along the way, we could see the effect the glacier had on the rocks. Many were split and/or showed striations. The fall colors were still vibrant and some trees were starting to grow out of the few inches of soil covering the rocks.

This rock looks like a puzzle box

High enough to hike in snow

Can you tell whose shoes are whose?

At the top, we could see nearly all of the hikes we had been on earlier in the week including Laguna del Diablo (even the refuge), Laguna Azul and Verde, and Laguna Condor. We found a spot for a tea break and learned that the Diablo valley is called as such because the trees turn a bright red in the fall, and in the summer and spring, there are many red flowers covering the area.

Red valley, snow, and sun rays make for a pretty nice hike

Glacial rocks and our tea spot in the corner

Matt matches the trees

Always appreciate a tea break

Thanks for the guiding, Amelia!

We made our way back down the same trail, stopping to get more photos as the lighting changed. Our pace was pretty quick going down and it only took about an hour and a half. We eventually made it to the van and ended our last hike of the trip.

I feel like I’m being watched

Fractured rocks

Looking over Laguna Candor – I think I see my dad

Every step looked like this

Looking over Laguna Azul and El Diablo trail

We all met back at the hotel for lunch and to get ready to leave in the morning. Matt took advantage of his free massage at the spa and we all enjoyed relaxing in the lobby that we turned into our personal living room. At dinner, we celebrated finishing our trip that was 4 years in the making with some champagne.

Thanks for an amazing trip!

Tomorrow, we leave Explora for the airport at 9:30, and plan to make a quick stop in El Chaltén. Then, its flights back to Chicago and back to the real world.

Day 7: Laguna del Diablo

The morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise. By now we have our morning routine perfected. We met our guide, Marcello and the other two guests on the full day hike to Laguna del Diablo. We started where we ended the Los Huemules hike on Day 3, but took the Diablo trail at the split.

Good Morning

Near the start of the hike

The majority of the trail followed the Diablo river surrounded by the vibrant fall colors and the Electric Mountain. Along the trail, we heard and saw some birds that Marcello could identify. We hiked about 4 miles with some inclines to a refuge overlooking Laguna del Diablo and the Cagliero glacier.

Pretty colors today as well

Dad points at lichen

We found an overlook of the river and valley

Marcello helps us identify birds

It had started to lightly rain, but we were mostly covered by the tall trees. We crossed the river on a wood bridge to get to the west side of the lake and glacier. The last few hundred meters to the refuge were open on a rocky glacial moraine.

Over the bridge to the refuge

Entering the moraine – AKA asteroid field

We arrived at the refuge and found a cozy spot by the fire place to eat our lunches. It was very nice to be able to eat inside while it started raining harder outside. The refuge also offered us beverages and dulce de leche crepes, so that was an awesome bonus.

Solar powered refuge

No need for camping chairs here!

The refuge had some early drawings

Once we were relaxed and full, we made our way back on the same trail. The return trip went pretty quick and we managed to avoid any heavy rain. The weather started to clear up for a while and we were treated to (continued) excellent views.

Glacial terminal moraine

Heading back into the woods

Windows 98, fall edition, is that you?

We stopped at some of the same lookouts from the way in as the views change slightly with the weather.

Looking back to where the refuge is

Thanks for the guiding, Marcello!

This dragon is disguising itself as a tree

This part of the trail has yellow trees

When we arrived back at the hotel, it had started to rain harder. We were happy to have made it to our favorite place – the bar – for some afternoon refreshments. Tomorrow is our last full day, so we had to pick our explorations carefully. Matt and Jo picked El Filo, and Mom and Dad picked Laguna Condor.

Recovering back at the hotel