In the morning, on our way back to the airport, Nahuel insisted that Bariloche had the best croissants in the World and that we should try some as we drove along. With the best intentions we stopped at a local bakery that he had recommended. Just one problem - it wasn’t opened yet. This did not deter Nahuel who promptly barged in the siode door and instructed the baker to put some croissants in the oven. 20 minutes later, and slightly anxious to get to the airport, a big bag of hot croissants arrived with Nahuel smiling with success. The were very good. The best? Don’t know but appreciated the effort nonetheless.
So, we were back on the jet for the flight to Calama, near Atatcama. Back in Chile. Along the way we were invited into the cockpit to appreciate some spectacular views of the Andes.
Upon arrival and clearing immigration and customs (every bag in our group was searched), we headed off with our driver to San Pedro de Atacama, about 2 hours drive away. There we would be staying at the Tierra Atacama hotel. This is just like the Explora concept with daily activities and excursions.
Along the way, we got an appreciation for the desolate landscape of the desert with high mountains and volcanoes in the distance. We arrived at the hotel, embedded in a rustic village of dirt roads and farm fields. Of course, we were invited to sign up for activities right away. I had read there are vast salt lakes in the region famous for flocks of Flamingos. That sounded like fun for this afternoon so we signed up for that. Only one little problem. Despite being the dryest place on Earth, with a mere 5mm of rain per year, we were now looking at dark skys and the occasional flash of lightning. Aparently we had arrived during the rainy season. We set off anyway as the sky darkened further and lightning became more frequent. We stopped at a local village on the way.
Since we were traveling on dirt roads, things were not looking good. Determined to see the Flamingos, we pressed on for about an hour being followed by the impending storm. Well, we got there just as the wind was getting up and people were rushing back to their transportation. There were several Flamingos but most have also seen the approaching storm and had flown off to wherever they go when this kind of weather happens. I got a few shots.
Mark was determined to take pictures.
Back to the bus and off on the 1-2 hour drive back to the hotel. Flashes of lightning, thunder, more flashes of lightning, torrents of rain. The guide, from the front seat of the bus, described it as like an Armageddon movie. There was certainly more than 5mm of rain dropped that evening!
Safely back in the hotel we all had dinner and crashed for the night. It was still raining as we went back to our rooms.