San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacames is a pretty little town high up in the Andes famous for its salt flats and arid desert. Imagine my surprise to hear my name called across the square only to see my friend Gustavo from Edinburgh and his Spanish girlfriend sitting having a drink in the square. The world is surely small. San Pedro has a great vibe and is a real traveller’s haunt all looking for adventure heading into the desert or coming back. It is a transport centre but despite having lots of  tour agencies, guesthouses, cafes and restaurants it has a small town feel and is a really nice place to hang out. I had arrived from Salir de Uyuni in Bolivia and San Pedro was like a breath of fresh air with its beautiful church, pretty plaza and dusty streets with whitewashed adobe houses. There are many tours that can be taken from here including visiting the salt lagoons, the geyser de Tatio, Laguna Tebinquinchi and Reserva Nacional de Flamencos. Having done all of these I was just heading to Buenos Aires and a tango fix.