Atacama Part 2 - Guest-blogged by Alan (aka Grandpa) with notes by me

Rob, Jonathan and I planned to wake up at 4:30 to leave on a tour company excursion to an enormous geyser field in which volcanos are embedded including El Tatio.  I got up first, started to wash when all the lights in the building went out. I found my little flashlight, woke up Jonathan with whom I am sharing a bedroom and we staggered around to get ready. The lights finally went on but not until there was a fair amount of confusion.

Love!

The field is at 14,000 feet and reached by a curvy semi paved road which has to be traversed in the dark to reach the display at its daybreak maximum spectacularness. It was 20 degrees Fahrenheit where we got off to walk around and have breakfast. We bought knitted hats and used socks for gloves. The young Europeans and Brazilians who made up the rest of our 11 person group stripped to bikinis and went into the hot pools. Jonathan got his feet wet and Rob and I watched. 

I can't get enough of them!

Others swam - J. just dunked his hands and toes in

Lots of vicunas, Viscacha, which are little rabbit/rats, and llamas.  Also a number of local birds whose names I can't remember except for the Andean duck.  

Vicuna

Andean duck?

At one of the stops, Jonathan marked the trip with a display of altitude-induced stomach violence which was soon treated with coca leaf tea like Evo Morales and everybody else here recommends.

Don't worry - he won't be drug-tested for a while.

Not to be completely outdone, we planned a group trip back the next day.  To be continued when we get back to Santiago.