well, i got back from san pedro de atacama about 12 hours ago. san pedro is worth everything negative it throws at you – the 5-hour bus ride through the desert (which i actually find incredibly beautiful), the lights and water cutting off every five minutes, the bone-chilling cold at night and the complete lack of hot water. it is more than worth it. it is absolutely impossible to be angry or sad in san pedro. it is a truly sensational little pueblo.
we got there friday night, kind of late, because our bus was wicked late leaving antofa. we had nowhere to stay lined up, which was a bad idea for a long weekend, so we ended up dropping a little more money and staying a little farther away from the main street than we intended, but for one night it was nice to have a private bathroom and bedroom, and plus luis and i have never stayed anywhere really decent together, so it was like a little vacation for us. after we settled in, we walked back to the centro in search of food and ate a phenomenal meal. i considered wine, but turned it down. we had to wait a long time for the phenomenal meal, and they offered us a free after-dinner drink. but after the phenomenal meal, nothing could top it, so we went home, had spectacular sex, and went to bed. totally sober and totally happy.
we got up super early the next day and went off in search of all the adventure that the pueblo offers. we ended up going out to bathe in a lagoon that is 80% salt and heated by volcanic activity. then we went to these meteorite pools next to each other that are called “los ojos de la salar” – eyes of the salt flat. then we saw another lagoon, where the real treat was the sensational sunset and moonrise. when we got back that night, we had another excellent meal (san pedro is awesome for good food) and then had two cuba libres. we knew we were getting up early again the next day, so we went back to the hostel after that. more amazing sex, and less-than-amazing sleep, because even in all my layers, with all those blankets, and a raised bed (and another warm body in the bed with me) i was just frozen to the bone.
sunday we got up early and went sandboarding. sandboarding is one hell of an experience. i am sore as anything today, but it was so totally worth it. how many people get to go sandboarding in the driest desert in the world? pretty spectacular.
anyway, i think my challenge for this week is going to be not to drink during the week, because normally when i exercise restraint all weekend, i start feeling super strong urges to be fall-down drunk by wednesday. more updates to come.