An unplanned night in the Atacama desert

Bolivia – April 2019

It all starts on the second day of the 3-day Jeep tour from Uyuni (BO) to San Pedro de Atacama (CL), which I booked with a street vendor upon arriving in the dusty town of Uyuni. The group I am part of consists of 3 students from Belgium, a German couple, another solo traveller from the US and me. The first day we spent in the salt flats, visiting a local artisanal market and taking fun group pictures. At night we returned to Uyuni and stayed at a hotel which was included in the tour price. During dinner, our driver Antonio (who only spoke Spanish and made me his translator) announced that we would meet up in the lobby at 9 am sharp the next morning.

All group members are in South America long enough to know that 9 am sharp most likely means 9.30 am or 10 am. However, we don’t want to jeopardize today’s schedule and still head down to the reception area at 9 am. We exchange stories with a Japanese couple who is waiting for their private guide too and from time to time check the clock. At 9.45 am Josh asks me to text the lady who organized the trip, to let her know that Antonio still hasn’t arrived. I do so, but Fatima doesn’t reply for another 20 minutes. Again we don’t think much of it, but we are eager to finally get going. At 10.05 am she finally arrives at the hotel and tells us that the driver will be late. But we shouldn’t worry and come with her to a place where we could have breakfast while we wait for him.

We eat and chat while Fatima keeps calling the driver to see when he will be here. Once we’re done with breakfast, she pays and asks us to cross the street and wait for her next to a closed party supplies store. We wished the store was open so we could wait inside, as it’s freezing cold despite the sunshine. Another 10 minutes later Fatima finally returns. This time in a white Jeep with our driver. We help to fix our big backpacks on the roof and decide who gets to sit where. Finally, everyone is in the car and we can get going.

While we were waiting we’ve seen many other cars like ours leave the desert town and it was clear that we’re the last ones left. I ask Antonio why he was late and he replies that he had to check the car because there was a problem with the motor. But he reassures me that now everything is working just fine. Then we arrive at a small settlement where we have a short lunch break. All the other Jeeps are already getting ready to leave again as we arrive, but again Antonio promises that we’ll make up time in the afternoon. We wolf down the same old maïs-cheese pancakes and some dry chicken and head back to the car.

During the next 1-hour drive the landscape noticeably starts to change. The dry, sandy flats turn into rocky hills as we climb higher. We reach a pretty lake which is home to hundreds of flamingos. We walk along the muddy lake shore and almost get blown away by the wind. Antonio picks us up half-way around the lake and we rush to the second last stop of the day. The “Arból de piedra” is exactly what its name says – a huge, tree-shaped rock. A short photo session and bathroom break later we head to the day’s highlight. The “Laguna Colorada” is a shallow salt lake close to the Bolivian-Chilean border. We arrive shortly before sunset and in the dusky light, the water shows all of its colourful beauty. Unfortunately, we don’t have much time to appreciate it, as our accommodation is still a 1.5-hour car drive away.

So we hop back in the Jeep, looking forward to a warm meal and a little sad we’d miss the chance to take a bath in the hot springs as they would already be closed when we arrive. And then, about 45 minutes into the drive, it happens. The motor stutters, we keep rolling a few meters and then the car just stops. With the car, the Andean music blasting from the radio stopped too and for a few seconds, everything is completely silent. Antonio tries to restart the car, but nothing happens. Used to this kind of thing he takes his flashlight and opens the bonnet. A couple of minutes later he gets back into the car and again tries to start the motor. Again, nothing happens. He asks Josh and Elias to help him and returns to the front of the car. They try to get the car started a few more times while we check our cell signals – which of course is non-existent.

Just when the sun sets, we finally accept our fate. We will not be enjoying a warm meal in a Bolivian homestay but instead, eat the leftovers of our snacks and sleep in the Jeep. Antonio keeps apologizing and tells us that this has never happened to him before. The cars used for the excursions to the salt flats do frequently break down because the salty water destroys parts of the motor and battery. However, there usually are lots of other cars around to help restart the ones that broke down and it only causes a delay of a few hours. In our case, all other groups are already safely in their hotels and no-one will pass our deserted resting spot until shortly before sunrise. So we try to make ourselves comfortable.

It turns out that this is a quite difficult task for 8 people in a Jeep with 7 seats. The other issue is the cold. At night the temperature falls to below 0° Celsius at that time of the year. Fortunately, we have 3 fluffy sleeping bags and an old wool blanket Antonio finds in the trunk. We still find it hard to fall asleep so to make the time go by as quickly as possible, we start a game of telling the worst travel stories we know. Then, to make things even worse, one of the Belgian girls and I start to feel really sick. This might be because we haven’t eaten in a long time or because of the lack of oxygen. So we jump out of the car to get some fresh air and are completely blown away by the most magical starry night. Josh joins us and sets up his camera on a tripod to capture the Milkyway. We could stay out there looking at the sky all night. If only it were a little warmer. So we get back into the cramped car and this time open the windows a little.

The following hours pass very slowly without much sleep. At around 6 am we hear the first Jeep. We try to shout but they don’t notice us and drive past us. So when we hear another car, we step outside and furiously wave our arms. 2 cars finally see us and drive up to our resting spot. Antonio talks to the drivers, trying to find a solution to get the car running, while I try to find myself a lift to the Bolivian border. Josh originally planned to continue to San Pedro de Atacama too but decided to join everyone else on their way back to Uyuni to try to get some money back. I find an older Japanese couple who has a spare seat in their car, gather all my belongings and wish the rest of the group good luck.

The new driver takes us to the geysers we were going to visit too. We witness a beautiful sunrise and the lady from Nagoya gives me some tipps for my trip to the Kansai region I have coming up after Argentina. When we reach the hot springs I have to change cars again, as the couple is returning to Uyuni. Around 45 minutes later, the friend of my second driver arrives and brings me to the border where I catch a spacious bus to Chile and finally get some sleep.