Rat on the Road: An Unexpected Gang Of Four

This is where the course of my trip took another radical turn, from the luxuries and excesses of travelling with Graham, followed by the solitude of driving around northern Argentina by myself, to a whole new and unexpected chapter.

San Pedro de Atacama, far from being on a par with Somalia for its hostile welcoming of visitors, in fact delivered everything the poster at the car rental firm promised. Moreover, staying in a hostel, which had previously been the sum of all my fears, has been one of the highlights of this trip. On arriving, the only forms of human life present were two Swiss/German girls who were only too happy to share the bottles of wine that I had brought all the way over from Cafayate. Tired though I was, I seriously needed a drink and someone to share the ordeal that I had just been put through. By 3am I was fast asleep, and even though my single room was barely the size of the bed, it was the best night´s sleep I could recall for a long time.

The Hostal Nuevo Amanecer (meaning A New Day Dawning) couldn´t have been more aptly named, and the very sight of the desert morning sun almost instantly reversed my opinion of San Pedro. Before heading out to breakfast, I bumped into a tall bearded hippie type with a guitar on his way in. Other than rolling my eyes with vague contempt, no cause for alarm here. Breakfast, a stroll around the town square, and even a chat with a few humans convinced me that I should stay longer here. It was, dare I say it, a nice place.

A new dawn at the Nuevo Amanecer


Scrambled eggs not as good as Mom´s, but still pretty good.

To my relief, there was a reason to be here, and it was tourism.

By the time I returned to the hostel, Thora and Rahel, the two Swiss girls, had already made friends with Noah. the bearded hippie who happens to be a student from Vermont USA. I suggested we do something with the car, so off we went to see the famous Valle de la Lune (Moon Valley) a half hour´s drive away, for sunset.