Puritama & Domeyko

Finally it’s time to really get this adventure started! I slept well last night and woke up feeling rested but very swollen and kinda funny, almost like I have a mild rash. It must be my body adjusting to the altitude and maybe it’s from using their body wash? I readied myself for the day and headed to breakfast. Each morning Explora offers a buffet starting at 6am and additional menu items you can order from the kitchen after 7am. Not realizing how this all worked though there was plenty to fill myself with from just the buffet and I had a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, avocado, fruit, mini croissant, and a “cereal” bowl of granola, almonds, and chia seeds. Altitude definitely suppresses the appetite but I tried to eat enough to be ready for a hike.

My plan today includes the Puritama (~3.5 miles, max altitude 11,605′) hike in the morning, which ends at hot springs, and a hike in the Domeyko mountain range (~3.5 miles, max altitude 9,624) in the afternoon. I checked in for my first exploration in the lobby and found that I would be with the same couple from the airplane again and another slightly older couple. Our guide, Adrian, confirmed that we had all the gear we needed and we loaded up on snacks and water before Adrian led us to the map on the wall to explain where we would be going and what we would be doing, suggesting we all take at least one trekking pole with us. I’m not a fan of trekking poles but if the guide has one I figure I should to.

He introduced us to our driver, Juan, and we loaded into the van. Driving through town loose dogs ran all around, playing with each other, and chasing cars. They all looked well fed and healthy which makes my heart happy. Adrian told me that they sometimes call San Pedro de Atacama the nickname San Perro de Atacama because there are so many dogs! Without any police interrogations, our driver eventually pulled over, seemingly randomly, on the side of the road and Adrian declared that it was time to start our hike. There wasn’t much of a clear trail, just a steep hillside. And we were going straight up. Well this is a fun way to start the day.

We slowly climbed to the top of the hill with Adrian pointing out the local fauna and drawing our attention to the giant cactus. After a few minutes we reached the top and were on the rim of a canyon with a river and lush oasis below. The former guide lady from my flight was chatting Adrian’s ear off the entire time, I couldn’t understand them but she seemed skeptical.

With the trail leveling out when we reached the canyon rim the group was cruising along when Adrian stopped and informed us he needed a moment to figure out the best path for us to take, the best path to take us down the side of the canyon wall to the canyon floor. Oh, this is interesting. Now I see why I needed a trekking pole. He tested a few rocks and declared that we were at a good spot. Slowly and with tentative steps I made my way scrambling down the canyon wall, getting ahead of Adrian at times as he helped others behind me. Though my depth perception is lacking, I think my new polarized sunglasses actually help my sense as I didn’t feel quite as unsure of my footing as I thought I would.

A lone guanaco watched us curiously as we made our way to a plateau and a puma print was clear as we reached the canyon floor. Guanacos are usually with others but Adrian explained that he was likely a juvenile male who had been exiled and needed to find his own herd of ladies.

We hiked along the canyon floor, amongst the Puritama river, and the giant bushy fauna of this oasis. At one point we had to backtrack and take a higher route due to the river flooding a portion of our planned route. Based on Adrian’s reaction I worried it was a long backtrack but it turned out to be nothing and in no time we were back to making forward progress. I used my SheWee and kula cloth for the first time in the wild and was giddy at how well they worked, celebrating with a square of dark chocolate.

The sun was blazing and I wish I had worn cooler clothes than my heaviest merino leggings and top. I was burning up. The hike continued on the undulating path along the river and then back up part of the canyon wall. Over three hours after starting the trail we finally made it to the Puritama Hot Springs. Explora has actually taken ownership of this land and created a series of pools out of the hot springs for their guests to enjoy. I was so overheated, I was delighted to finally change into my bathing suit and relax in the springs. This is only my first hike here but already it was way more technical than I expected, providing a great sense of accomplishment and lessons learned for my future hikes this week about which layers to bring and how much water I’d go through.

One of the bonuses of having a guide is having a photographer! Adrian played photographer for a couple minutes and I reveled in the peace of the springs and the warm water. When I looked back at my photos later I was surprised to find that he had taken way more pictures and had the camera on me longer than I thought.

Driver Juan and Adrian set-up a little picnic at the hot springs with drinks, fruit, cheese, meats, nuts, and hummus. After soaking in the springs and nibbling on snacks it was time to head back to the lodge. I think everyone forgot I was seated in the back seat of the van because there were lively conversations in Spanish the entire drive back and not a word to me. It was ok though, I welcomed my time to reflect on my morning and absorb the landscape, complete with a herd of grazing donkeys.

We returned to the lodge around 2pm, giving me just over an hour until my scheduled Domeyko hike. I needed some energy so I ordered an iced tea, which came out prettier than expected, and trout, the kids menu item, because neither osso bucco nor zucchini carpaccio, the lunch entree choices of the day, sounded the least bit appetizing. Trout with rice and a salad was the perfect option.

After lunch, I returned to the exploration center to get back to working on my itinerary for the week. This time the guide I worked with listened slightly better and I felt a little better about the plan that was coming together. Though I am still so disappointed about Lascar. But at least I have a plan that I am mostly feeling good about. At the very least, I feel good about the next 2 1/2 days.

At the appointed time, I my guide, Claudia, for my Domeyko hike and was introduced to Jose and Giulia who were the other guests joining us. Jose and Giulia are from San Paolo, Brazil. She is in her final year of schooling to be a dermatologist and he is in “entertainment,” which seems to mean planning large parties and events. Claudia is an absolute gem and both Giulia and Jose were fun and engaging. Jose wants to climb Kilimanjaro so he was very curious about that planning process and wants to connect for more information when I’m back.

Our driver Jose was impressive as he took the van off-roading into the heart of the Domeyko range, the driest part of the Atacama desert region, which itself is the driest non-polar desert in the world. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, Driver Jose stopped the van and it was time to start the hike.

The hike itself was not challenging or technical but offered a wide open river bed trail, stunning rock formations, and a relatively flat terrain. Jose like to wander ahead and would turn around and photograph us ladies hiking and chatting. Giulia is adorable and I loved that she used the word “delicious” in her sweet Brazilian accent as her positive descriptor of choice.

As we reached the ladder part of the hike, the walls narrowed tightly and we found ourselves in a canyon floor. Claudia had explained to us earlier that we would have to climb down a series of waterfalls, at least one using four points, but I hadn’t been sure what to actually expect until we were there. With my lack of depth perception I was skeptical about this part of the hike but I did it and lived to tell about it! Claudia would go down first each time and show us the way down and then we would help each other in an assembly line of climbers. On the four points waterfall, where we literally had to spread our arms and legs to four points to slowly climb down the side of the waterfall I did better than I thought I would. On another I just couldn’t figure out the next step with my depth perception and basically jumped halfway down, with Claudia laughing and catching me. I need to remember to connect with them before they leave because we all took video of each other climbing that we need to swap.

The sun was beginning to set and paint the landscape in velvety hues as we reached the end of the hike. Driver Jose was waiting with a picnic of refreshments, fruit, charcuterie, and hummus for us to all enjoy together. Throughout the hikes; the guides and drivers are connected via walkie talkies. They regularly check in with each other and the guide provides updates on our location so they know where we are, where to meet us since almost every hike is a point-to-point, and when to expect us to reach them. With Claudia, Giulia, and the Joses I felt like I was among friends. They are people that I wish I could spend more time with and I am glad that it is with them I will hold the memory of scaling these dry waterfalls.

Back at the lodge I cleaned myself up to head to dinner. They don’t start serving dinner until 8pm which I find very annoying. It’s so late for dinner and most of the explorations leave so early in the morning. After showering up I went to relax in the lounge and then headed into the restaurant at exactly 8pm. A couple at the table next to me had just arrived and asked me about my experience so far. As we were chatting, Lynn-from-last-night’s-dinner came in and I invited her to join me at my table. The four of us spent all of dinner talking about travel and the desert; considering how slow dinner service was, it was a good amount of time. The couple is very interesting. They seemed young, mid 30s maybe, are American and live in the Bay Area but met in Chile 12 years ago; she works in software engineering, he’s a venture capitalist, and for the next year they are going to travel around the world and work remotely. Later, Lynn and I both shared the same spidey sense that there was more to them. Again, more wonderful people to spend part of my day with.

Earlier I had mentioned to Lynn that I was doing the full day Peñaliri Hike tomorrow and she let me know that she was going to be going on the hike with me. After dinner we checked the posted excursions list and it looks like it’s just us tomorrow! We shared notes on what the guides had told us to expect and we’ve been told very different things about the weather, one guide told me it would be freezing cold and one had told her it would be chilly but not bad. That’s one thing I’ve learned already, depending on which guide you ask you may get very different answers.

Dinner service is slow so even wrapping up dinner as quickly as we could it was still after 9:30pm by the time we finished. Back in my room I made my tea and settled into bed, it’s amazing how quickly water boils at elevation! Tonight they had done my proper turndown service and moved the extra blankets off the bed revealing the white comforter. After sitting in bed for a few minutes I started to feel funny and itchy. I had checked the pillows yesterday but hadn’t even realized there was a thicker comforter sandwiched between the blankets on the bed. Only now after turndown did I notice it. Rubbing a corner of the comforter between my fingers it was immediately clear, it wasn’t the altitude, it’s the damn down comforter that left me swollen and rashy this morning. I tore it off the bed and made myself cozy with the other blankets, furious at both them for not properly defeathering my room and at myself for not having checked close enough.