We made a trip into the Rainbow Canyon on a private tour. It was pretty fabulous. Andre loved all the interesting rocks, and there were lots of llamas, birds, and ancient petroglyphs.it was pretty high elevation 10,000 ft.

Health report: it’s been tricky, adjusting to the altitude, dry desert air, a stomach problem (me) and dehydration  for the first couple of days but we are doing better plus it’s cold here.

tomorrow the get

 

 

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What a pleasant surprise! We found a wonderful French bakery with Chocolate Croissants and baguettes, run by a young Frenchman. We made reservations for a tour for tomorrow to see a rainbow canyon and we will do some hiking.

 On to lunch at Eleanore’s and to an event at the school where all Eleanore’s children attend. This was in another town\oasis about a half an hour away. They had a big stage set up and entertainment. First a Pavarotti in the Desert singer then little kids dancing to YMCA (in English). It was rather surreal.  We cut out early and walked around the town, visiting a weaving shop and checking out the town’s water system.

The towns in the desert are supplied with water by a river or two that is channeled into sluices and small gates that open into people’s property in order to irrigate. A clever system developed by the pre-Incans thousands of years ago. It’s pretty interesting.

 

Amazing! We landed in Santiago this morning and shuttled to our hotel then rode the subway to the city plaza. Walked all over; people watching, listening to music everywhere and trying to speak Spanish. There was a cultural event going on with dancing and music from early 1800’s in Santiago. We had lunch in a small fish market cafe and went to an artisan market for special lapis jewelry. Exhausted…back to our hotel for an early night. Tomorrow it’s on to Calama and San Pedro de Atacama.