Have really enjoyed your photo's on facebook,looks like you have a little catching up to do here.I have to admit to never hearing of the city either.Regards Noel.

WARNING This post could seriously change your life as you look at the pictures and dream of far of places that look as beautiful as this....

A somewhat jet-lagged group set off that first morning, following the straight roads that headed east under a clear blue sky




We're in the Atacama Desert, the driest spot on the planet and without a hint of greenery, I've crossed a lot of deserts in my time and it's often surprising how much grows there, but not at the Atacama - a dry, grey landscape stretched away in all directions.

breaks to enjoy the view and to grab some snacks,



and for me to change my hairstyle to summer riding (some people change their jackets, mine is my hair).
We're mostly on the BMW 1200GS with a couple of smaller bikes thrown in for good measure




our destination, San Pedro de Atacama a town in the foothills of the Andes, but first we had the Salar de Atacama to cross- a huge expanse of salt flat, not as well-known as its near neighbour the Salar de Uyuni but just as stunning.

To our relief, after over 100 miles of dead straight tarmac, the road started to get a few curves in it



and there was the Salar in front of us




bloody great lumps of salt mixed with hardened clay!


Luckily they've made a sort of road across the Salar, not surprisingly it's made of salt, and actually it's quite a good surface to ride on



The landscape and scenery is just spectacular




The rest of the group arrive and we all get busy with our cameras









it's not as easy to walk on as it looks


I look around at this amazing environment with its breathtaking views...or maybe that's the lack of oxygen, and I just think to myself how bloody lucky I am



The urge to travel and having a bike really can take you anywhere.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Good grief Noel, my whole life has a lot of catching up to do, never mind blogging for others to follow!!

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Having arrived at San Pedro de Atacama after a great day of riding, we set our alarm clocks for the unearthly hour of 4.00am. It's going to be a special day if a rather long one...
We’re going to see one of the Andes Mountains’ best kept secrets, sunrise at the world’s highest geyser fields.
The Tatio Geysers








As a side issue, I am also testing out the new BMW GS Dry suit, so it was a bit ironic that my initial ride with it was across teh driest desert in the world. however the geysers gave me a chance to try them in the wet as I wandered through






We’re up at 4250 metres, and feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen, it doesn't stop us fooling around a bit



We pose for pictures as the beams of light cut through the steam, giving an eerie look.
The Bolt somehow becomes our team look for the rest of the trip as you'll see.

There's some movement and we spot El Zorro...The Fox





I hear splashing and spot some pools



And although it's a bit chilly in the early morning and and we're at altitude, it doesn't take me long to get in the water as well



Followed by a few of my group...



The water temperature is like a warm bath with a hot end where the boiling springs enter and a cold end where the freezing snow melt seeps in.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Having seen the sunrise at the Tatio Geysers, we headed west of town in the afternoon to enjoy the sunset at La Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)



Some gorge riding to get there







Sure enough the landscape started to resemble something you'd see...well not on the moon, maybe on Mars



It might look like snow which would make for more drama, but actually it's salty deposits

Weird rock formations, definitely a lunar feel or maybe Mars










There are four other women in the group with me, it's always good to have female company in what tends to be a male dominated world.





The valley is an incredible looking place





Lots of volcanoes in this area, though the locals assured me that they're almost all extinct



We lingered a bit too long in the Valley, taking photos which meant that by the time we made our way back to our hotel, it was rapidly darkening and so we took a short-cut, which turned into a motorbike obstacle course...in the dark

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Discussing routes, whilst eating crisps.



My meat-eating customers had no problems with tucking into llama kebabs



I have to confess this was the first llama we saw..

Roads were tarmac once more



No, it's NOT a sign for a brothel but one that indicates the location of the nearest Ladies' Loo.


Negotiating with Customs




Later keeping an eye on the customers whilst having a break from riding


the ghost town of Humberstone, first settled in the 1860's then abandoned virtually overnight 100 years later, the place is spooky to walk around, but fascinating.



The new Word of BMW Support Vehicle


There's so much to see in South America, not least the unusual wildlife, these are vicuna- wild cousins of the llama and alpaca and rarely seen, we were lucky to spot them.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Our route was taking us northwards, the coast is fairly desolate with the occasional oceanside shanty towns, the fog made me feel at home




The road was undergoing construction and the bikes managed to get to the front of the queue of vehicles waiting to pass, a clear ride through for us without having to overtake lorries in the dust



The first fuel stop in Peru...pulling into the garage for petrol, I discovered that this one provides fuel for bikes and people



Half an hour later and the cold s seemed like a good idea as we rode through a dry and desert-like landscape,



It was an environment devoid of any sign of life except the occasional small settlement of shacks like this one, which seem to have no source of water



The sign reads "Slow, Dangerous Bends"



This guy obviously hadn't paid it any attention


It looked fairly recent, so I'd stopped to check if anyone needed help, one of my group stopped as well.

Leaving the plateau behind, we started climbing, my GPS Sat Nav, showing the altitude as 4637 metres (over 15,000ft if you're not metric). I can feel the effects, a thumping headache kicks in as my brain is slowly being starved of oxygen.


At the higher altitudes we started to see llama flocks alongside the road



Usually guarded by dogs


It seems that the dogs are not always as vicious as they might be, this one looked like he'd come straight off the set of a Disney film


He had guts though as he stood his ground in the middle of the road barking at us on our bikes.

Another peril on the roads - you don't need to be fluent in Spanish to understand what's in this tanker



More hot springs, but no time to stop for a dip, we've got quite a distance to go today.


My entry in the competition to find a picture of the prettiest alpaca award



We reached Lake Titicaca, the end of our day's journey, it had been a challenging ride but with so many great sights that we'd enjoyed it.



The town of Puno which is nestled between the mountains and the lakeside, our GPS led us through the maze of streets.



The beautiful view from my window as the sun set.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

A day off the bikes, we're at high altitude, 4500m (nearly 15,000ft) we need some time to acclimatise and to take in our surroundings.The group head out to the Uros islands - incredible floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca, legend has it that the tribes on them chose to move to islands that float so that they could escape from their war-like neighbours hundreds of years ago.

I wave them off from the bank


Everything is made of reeds including furniture, houses and of course boats



I visited the islands myself several years ago, they really are an incredible place, this is one of the scenes that I missed out on! They're up to no good on the islands



One of many great meals we had

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo