Life is full of surprises. Some good and some not so good. Who would have guessed that the coronavirus would stop the world this way? We’re all at the shipyard waiting for the pandemic to pass. If we weren’t in quarantine, I would be embarking this week for the Atacama Desert, in Chile, and I had the intention of combining that destination with the unusual Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia. But … dream postponed.

As these countries are neighbors, it is “relatively” easy to cross from one to the other. It is necessary to take into account the altitude, the adversities of having to cross the Andes, the precariousness of the roads and the lack of connection by cell phone. But the beauty of the scenery is so great that it is worth the effort. It is one of those trips that makes us feel small in the face of the force of nature.

It would have been my second experience in the Atacama Desert and this time I would have shared the lodging between the charming hotels Alto Atacama and Tierra Atacama to review those imposing landscapes surrounded by a belt of volcanoes and to trail between lagoons, dunes, giant cacti, salt flats and geysers. A place that deserves a lot of comings and goings because although it looks like an arid region, it has no monotony! Its geography is very unique and of an amazing diversity.

Alto Atacama was built in adobe, totally in balance with nature, next to the ruins of Pukara Quitor. It is very exclusive. It has only 42 houses, which is important to think about in this moment of post-pandemic recovery, and is only three kilometers from the village of San Pedro de Atacama.

Tierra Atacama is another oasis of comfort and exclusivity in the desert. It also has a great responsibility with the environment and harmony with nature. It is two kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama and has the Licancabur volcano as a backdrop. A luxury!

The hotels themselves offer a beautiful menu of tours of Atacama. Among them are: Valley of the Moon and Death, Salar de Tara, Altiplano Lagoons, Geyser del Tatio, Puritama Hot Springs, climbing one of the many volcanoes in the region and even stretching to the Salar de Uyuni. And that was exactly my intention, to visit the largest salt desert in the world, in neighboring Bolivia, and to live a super experience staying at the Salt Palace, on the edge of the salt flat, 600 kilometers from La Paz. The hotel is very cozy, sophisticated and modern. It is a privilege to stay there to see the Salar de Uyuni, the Eduardo Avaroa Natural Reserve, the Colorada Lagoon full of flamingos, the Manãna Sun Geyser, the Polques hot springs, the cities of Sucre and Potosi.

Isn’t it awesome? Nature trips will be on the rise as soon as we can take flight. Chile and Bolivia await me. I’ll be there soon.

Have a great week. XoXo and see you next Tuesday.