Tatio Geysers

Steam rising from the hot springs

Yesterday I went to see a geyser field.  Since the mist and steam are best seen and photographed at dawn, we had to leave at 4:00am to get there before sunrise.  Even though this was in the middle of a desert, it was at 4300 meters, so it was in the low 30's when we got there, and that was warmer than most days there!  I didn't come prepared for cold weather, so I wore every piece of long clothing I had, except for my second pair of jeans.  Made me appreciate not being in the US for this past winter!!

Water boiling in a natural hot spring

When we got there our guide set out a nice breakfast for us, but it was hard to eat as we stood there shivering.  The desert is very mountainous here, so it got light long before we could actually see and feel the sun.  Everything looked so surreal, with snow-covered mountains in the background, steam rising from the pools, seeing the water in the hot springs actually boiling in the ground, and feeling the steamy water vapor warm our slightly numb bodies when we walked through it.  After that we got to see a small geyser that shoots water quite frequently - every minute or so. 

Vicunas - in the same family as llamas

Finally, around 8:45 the sun rose above the mountains, and it immediately felt about 20 degrees warmer.  We peeled off layers, and got some enthusiasm for exploring and taking funny pictures.  Then we got to soak in a natural hot spring, but it was very natural and not temperature regulated, and most of it was either scalding or a bit cold; it was hard to find a happy medium.  On the way back to San Pedro we stopped at a beautiful lake to take pictures of the scenery and a special bird there called a coot.  We also saw vicunas, and made a few more photo pit stops.

 
 
 
 

Video of a geyser