We took a 5 hour bus ride from Antofagasta to San Pedro on November 20. When we arrived our Airbnb host Felipe picked us up from the bus depot and brought us to our place. It was a cute 2 bedroom cabin with no TV and a 15 minute walk to town. We arrived at 6:00 so we got settled and walked to town for some empanadas and groceries. The next day we walked to town to get our bearings in this cute town. We found a well stocked grocery store (for this town) and arranged a rental car to be picked up the next day. – Renelle
Today I will talk about our day in San Pedro on November 22. We started our day off with going to pick up the rental truck, it was a nice red truck and it got us to were we wanted to go so I will say it was pretty nice.We drove to the salt cave first it was my favourite stop, It was part cave and part not. I collected some salt rocks I think there pretty cool. After that we went to the dunes it was a tiring. The three Mary’s were next, it was cool describing the 1,000,000 years old rocks that were to look like Mary. We got some pictures and moved on.Now off to the salt mines, it was amazing seeing that they don’t have to dig deep because the salt is right at the surface, we could hear the salt crack.
November 25 – Today I will talk about San Pedro de Atacama (desert). We started the day of early with some French toast, it was really good. After that we hopped into the truck and drove away. First stop, Flamingo Park. We arrived, now time to go see some flamingos. There were some flying ones, some just eating. Now to the Salt Springs, long bumpy road but we made it there. The water was cold and we floated so much. By the time we got out we were so salty. Time to go home, bye. – Sayer
Nov 22 – Today we went to Valle de la Lunar – Moon Valley. At Moon Valley we went in caves of salt, we saw canyons, saw the sand dunes, an did a ton of walking.
In the salt caverns we saw…..well salt. When you put a flashlight against the salt, the salt looks like a crystal. In the cave there was some parts that were narrow and some parts you have to crawl through. Since we were in the desert there was a lot of dust so it was pretty slippery.
At the canyons there was so much rock. The rock was very pretty and the colour was reddish brown. We took so many pictures it was crazy.
The sand dunes were the prettiest things there. When the top of the sand dunes and the sky met it was so pretty. We took a picture of it but it didn’t have the same effect. The worst part of Moon Valley was all of the walking, that sucked.
November 26 – Yesterday we went to Laguna de Chaxa (Chaxa Lake), it is a flamingo preserve. At the Flamingo Preserve we saw three different types of flamingos. There were the James Flamingo, the Chilean flamingo and the Andean flamingo.
After the Flamingo Preserve we went to the Laguna de Baltinache, the salt water laguna. At the laguna you can float, you really can’t get your feet under the water. Once you get out of the laguna and you are dry you feel like a corn on the cob, you have so much salt on it kind of burns. It seems like the workers there want to season you up and eat you for dinner.
At the end of the day we decided to go look at the stars. Since we are in the Atacama desert, it is the best place you will ever see the stars. It was very pretty but after a long day we decided to go home and get ready for bed. – Danika
November 22, 2018 Today I went to some salt caves and there is a salt hole and the salt was falling down. There is a place that is too dangerous for kids. We tasted salt. The caves were dark and we needed a flashlight at the Atacama Desert. – Gabriel
November 23 – Today we went to the market and we got some toques. My mom got a keychain and it was a tiny toque. When we got in the Atacama Desert we picked up hitchhikers (Just before we arrived to San Pedro a couple hopped into the box of the truck) – Gabriel
November 26 – 2018 Yesterday we got to float in the lagoon that is full of salt and we did high 10 with our feet and I got some water in my mouth and I choked and a guy gave me water. – Gabriel
We got to go to Rainbow Rock, and we saw a bunch of colours on the rock…..oooh I just got an idea…..at one stage there was a llama is it a llama, or an alpaca making so much dust. And we saw one of them that looked like my stuffy Oscar. That’s it. – dictated by Gabriel
Nov 22 San Pedro de Atacama is truly unique and amazing! I had great expectations for the desert and I must say it has exceeded everyone of them thus far. From our little cabin we stay in to the town that brings you back seemingly 100 years to the Valle De Luna which was awe inspiring! Renting a truck is proving to be a great choice. Not only cheaper then the tours (by quite a bit) it allows us to go at our own pace and see the sights without a bunch of other tourists for the most part. The truck being a manual transmission has led to a lot of talk about how vehicles run as well. We even got to use the box of the truck by picking up hitchhikers on the way back to town.
Nov 26 – This is the first place I have been truly disappointed in leaving. It was an amazing experience where every turn seems to have a totally different landscape which made for incredible sights. We went to the Valle de Acrosis (Rainbow Rock) yesterday. The different colours of rocks in this valley are awe inspiring! A definite must to see. When one travels Chile, they are told numerous times to visit the desert, and now I know why. It can not be over stated how magical this place is! Now back to Antofagasta to catch our breath before New Zealand. – Shawn
Lew Crew Adventures 
Good to hear from you. I am impressed with the comments made by the kids. I love the “corn cob” comment.
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