A majority of the day was spent on the bus to Chile. Chile is the only place in South America where Australians need a visa to enter which for whatever reason is an unnecessarily expensive and complicated task.
I arrived at the border and got stamped out of Bolivia on my Australian passport before swiftly swapping to my Irish passport to enter Chile where no visa is needed. I’d heard mixed reviews about whether this passport shuffle would be ok, but the guy at the desk clearly had the enthusiasm of someone who loves his job and barely glanced at me or my passport. A fresh stamp for my empty Irish passport, and I was in Chile.
Chile is the most expensive country in South America and one that I was not looking to hang around in for too long. I was told the San Pedro Atacama desert was a must see and it aligned well coming from Uyini in Bolivia. San Pedro de Atacama is a small, remote town in Northern Chile serving as the gateway to the desert, the driest place on earth.
The clear skies make it one of the best places in the world for stargazing which was definitely on my agenda for the couple of days I was there. First things first though, finding a pub to watch England in the Euro semi-finals. It would appear that even in the most remote places in the world, there will still be an Irish pub and San Pedro was no different. The pub was full, with a mix of English and Dutch supporters.
The stargazing at night didn’t disappoint and despite it being absolutely freezing, it was surreal to see the sky and stars so clearly.