First of all, I mistaken the tour start at 7am, so I wake up very early to take a shower and get ready. Turn out the tour wouldn't come to pick me up until 8am after I re-check the itinerary. Anyhow, that extra hour I am nowhere near relaxing because the shower broke! Seriously, it's a mess. At first, the water pressure is really low, and the water is cold, so I turn the hot water to maximum. 10 mins later, it is still cold. I decide I am going to wash my hair and use a towel to clean my body, I try to turn off the hot water, the switch get stuck and the water cannot be turned off. Holy shit, I think, I was just warned not to waste water in the desert, and here I am waking up in the freaking early hour with a broken shower. The water is just running off the drain. I walk out to see if I can find any help. At 6:30am, the backyard is quiet and the front office is closed. Go back inside, try to turn it with a towel, it is not turning at all. And at last, the water pressure returns to high, what a timing! Now, the water is really coming out fast and hitting the floor like da-da-da... I go out and find a bucket, hoping it will contain some water for a while. Does not take 5 mins, it is already filled up. The water is slightly warm too, I think instead of wasting it completely, I might as well take a shower. So, I do that. I guess it is a good chance for me to take a long shower, but since the water is only slightly warm, not hot at all, I can only do it really quick, can't even shave. Finally, go out again, see some other backpackers who are leaving, I ask them how I can find someone in the office. They says there should have someone sleeping in the office. In a desert, I would definitely call the troubled water situation in my bathroom is an emergency, so I knock on the door, a few moments later, a woman in her pajama with sleepy eyes answering the door, I have already written a piece of paper saying the shower broke, the water is not stopping. She is just "yeah-yeah" and then go back to sleep. I am like, come on...
I think maybe my paper isn't clear enough. Maybe another 20 mins passed, there is another backpacker just finish brushing her teeth in the shared bathroom, I tell her about my situation. She knock on the woman's door again, and tell her in Spanish. Apparently, she says there is nothing she can do at the moment, someone gonna look at it later. I go back inside try yet one more time to turn the water off. It turns finally, but the whole switch comes off as well. Oh my god. What is this? Did they install this in the 50s?! Put it back on the wall, hoping it would stay. It does, but I am not going to touch it again. The woman finally comes out, passing by my room, I ask her if she has a bigger bucket to contain the water perhaps. She goes into my bathroom and look at it, and she turns, the switch comes off again, and get her part of the pajama wet. She is not happy. I hang her a clothes to dry off her hands. She put the switch back on the wall and walk out my room. Ok.. even though the pick up isn't there yet, I walk out too.
Wait for 30 mins outside of the hostel maybe, the pick up is finally there, another full van, with the same guide and driver from yesterday, some of the tour mates were there yesterday. I guess these are some popular tours, people come here usually join the same tours. I bet I will see some of these people tomorrow as well. Our first stop is a uninteresting fruit farm. In a way, I guess it is interesting if you consider this is a desert. In the middle of it, there is this village, full of trees and a small river. There is some caves which nobody knows how old they are, but just above them there is a small geoglyph on a stone. Leaving that place, we arrive at Salar de Atacama (the world's third biggest salt lake after Uyani in Bolivia and Utah in the US), but the Atacama salt lake is unique because there are full of water underneath. We takes a lot of pictures of the flamingos here.
After the salt lake, we take a long ride and visit two altiplano lakes, it's totally worth the wait, they are very beautiful, understandable but it is pity that we cannot get closer to the lake, it is not allowed. I guess it's a right decision, otherwise the lakes would never be as pristine as it is. It is quite windy, so we cannot see the reflection of the volcanoes in the lakes. But still, the colors, the sights in the eyes are magical. After I try to take the same scenery 3 billion times later. We have to leave and finally have a late lunch at 2:30pm, with powered-made juice, soup, a rice dish and a dessert made by canned fruit. It is ok really. Nothing's too exciting. I have yet had a lunch or dinner from a tour is "crying out loud" great. I am getting kind of tired already after a long day. our last stop is a church. The church is torn down by earthquakes many times, but there is a bell tower in front has stood for since 1650 or something old like that. Pretty impressive. The tour ends, we are delivered back to the hostel after 5:30pm. I am being offered a new room. Thank you.
Go back to the same cafe I have dinner last night. I just want to sit somewhere to have a juice and get online with wi-fi for a while, and then maybe I have a pizza there, since I like their hamburger so much last night. It's really good value meal, for CHP2900 (less than US$5), a pizza or a hamburger + a drink. Recommended to any budget traveler. Back to the hostel early, since I will have to go to the El Tatio geysers tomorrow morning at 4am, I have reconfirmed. I should try to get to back before 9:30pm. And I will try to take a shower in the evening too. No more morning episode like this morning! If I break another shower, I bet I will be banned from this hostel forever.
Photos here: Day 41
