Friday, 19 September 2014
I started the day at 4.30 am this morning to the El Tatio geysers. This is located about 1 to 1 1/2 hours away from San Pedro, and situated about 4,300 m above sea level. I was warned about the cold weather in the morning, so I put on a long sleeve shirt, 2 sweaters, a windbreaker, 2 pairs of socks, a snow cap and gloves. It was negative 10 degrees Celcius when we arrived. This is by far the coldest place I'd ever been to. It was so cold my eyes and nose started watering on their own and I had no idea what to do or how to react to this kind of weather, and I was seriously contemplating staying on the bus but I wanted photos! Oh of course the view was splendid and all that but I swear I couldn't feel my fingers and toes at various times, I think my finger was frozen at one point and I had great difficulties in pressing the button on my phone to take a photo. Seriously.
The geysers are products of underground hot water rivers that generate the El Tatio volcano. I was quite intrigued by the fact that there was hot water coming out of geysers in negative temperatures. I mean, wouldn't it freeze? It was quite beautiful watching the sun rise over the mountains, and for a while I forgot my troubles. Just until I had to take another photo, and then it all came back that this stupid fool left her camera on the ghost bus that seemed to have disappeared.
On the way down, we saw some vicuñas, ducks and flamingoes, and I was thinking, "oh but I already saw that in Peru" and then I remembered that I didn't have the pictures anymore so I took some more pictures. We stopped at the Puritama hot spring, where some of the people in my tour group went for a swim, the water is about 30 degrees Celcius. I just walked around and watched the geysers boiling and bubbling away. After this we stopped at a small village named Machuca, it is really small with only about 50 people living here. There was a man selling grilled llama meat and I tried one. It's quite delicious.
Then the bus dropped us off at the main plaza at about 12.30 pm. I had lunch, then went back to the hostel to take a nap but that didn't happen. At about 3.30 pm I started walking to the bus station to see the returning bus. Today on top of Lazy Man there was also Lady Lame, and together they told me quite a different story, today they said the bus did not go to Salta, but back to Arica and would be returning to San Pedro tomorrow. When I asked them whether they then checked the bus for my camera as the bus did not leave for Salta, because by then they already had the details of my camera and how to contact me, they said they did not. I noticed that the piece of paper with my details on it that I gave to Lazy Man yesterday was missing. When I asked them why they did not immediately inform the bus driver / conductor of my camera on the bus, they said 'no say' which means don't know in Spanish. I lost the plot. This is the first time I have lost my temper when on holiday. I yelled at them in both English and in Malay, because they wouldn't understand me anyway and I really had it with their attitude, and for some strange reason I find it comforting to yell at them in Malay, in my head I think it makes them think that I am a real person from another country. I ended up telling them that the bus company was no good, Chile was no good and they were especially no good. No good is the only thing they seem to understand. And yes, I caused a scene but I didn't care.
I started the day at 4.30 am this morning to the El Tatio geysers. This is located about 1 to 1 1/2 hours away from San Pedro, and situated about 4,300 m above sea level. I was warned about the cold weather in the morning, so I put on a long sleeve shirt, 2 sweaters, a windbreaker, 2 pairs of socks, a snow cap and gloves. It was negative 10 degrees Celcius when we arrived. This is by far the coldest place I'd ever been to. It was so cold my eyes and nose started watering on their own and I had no idea what to do or how to react to this kind of weather, and I was seriously contemplating staying on the bus but I wanted photos! Oh of course the view was splendid and all that but I swear I couldn't feel my fingers and toes at various times, I think my finger was frozen at one point and I had great difficulties in pressing the button on my phone to take a photo. Seriously.
The geysers are products of underground hot water rivers that generate the El Tatio volcano. I was quite intrigued by the fact that there was hot water coming out of geysers in negative temperatures. I mean, wouldn't it freeze? It was quite beautiful watching the sun rise over the mountains, and for a while I forgot my troubles. Just until I had to take another photo, and then it all came back that this stupid fool left her camera on the ghost bus that seemed to have disappeared.
On the way down, we saw some vicuñas, ducks and flamingoes, and I was thinking, "oh but I already saw that in Peru" and then I remembered that I didn't have the pictures anymore so I took some more pictures. We stopped at the Puritama hot spring, where some of the people in my tour group went for a swim, the water is about 30 degrees Celcius. I just walked around and watched the geysers boiling and bubbling away. After this we stopped at a small village named Machuca, it is really small with only about 50 people living here. There was a man selling grilled llama meat and I tried one. It's quite delicious.
Then the bus dropped us off at the main plaza at about 12.30 pm. I had lunch, then went back to the hostel to take a nap but that didn't happen. At about 3.30 pm I started walking to the bus station to see the returning bus. Today on top of Lazy Man there was also Lady Lame, and together they told me quite a different story, today they said the bus did not go to Salta, but back to Arica and would be returning to San Pedro tomorrow. When I asked them whether they then checked the bus for my camera as the bus did not leave for Salta, because by then they already had the details of my camera and how to contact me, they said they did not. I noticed that the piece of paper with my details on it that I gave to Lazy Man yesterday was missing. When I asked them why they did not immediately inform the bus driver / conductor of my camera on the bus, they said 'no say' which means don't know in Spanish. I lost the plot. This is the first time I have lost my temper when on holiday. I yelled at them in both English and in Malay, because they wouldn't understand me anyway and I really had it with their attitude, and for some strange reason I find it comforting to yell at them in Malay, in my head I think it makes them think that I am a real person from another country. I ended up telling them that the bus company was no good, Chile was no good and they were especially no good. No good is the only thing they seem to understand. And yes, I caused a scene but I didn't care.
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