Well, except for the Arctic.  And the Antarctic.

This is probably the centre piece of the trip for Chris.  The Atacama desert.  Where the night sky is free of pollution from light or factory and the posh camera he has can be put to best use.

Our Santiago experience wound down with a street market peruse near the square that houses the cathedral.  A lively atmosphere.  My battered shoes given a £1 clean by a shoe shine man.  Chris benefiting from the 80p option due to cleaner shoes!

Beyond that we just looked.  And tired.  Eventually, after a light lunch, we returned to our hotel for the last time.

Tomorrow sees an early start.  Breakfast and the return of Tomas, our taxi driver from the arrivals hall.  A drive back to the airport and then our first flight on a South American airline.  Sky.  Not the TV firm.  90 minutes in the air or a 16 hour road trip became an easy decision.  A flight to Calama where we’ll pick up a hire car and head out on a light desert highway to San Pedro de Atacama.

Geysers, lagoons, nightscapes and moon views await.  Some night driving. Some locals driving for us.  Chris driving.  It’s all to come.  It’s all exceptionally remote.  It’s all genuinely exciting and definitely somewhere I never thought I’d visit.

Care over petrol, bottled water and basic foods is what matters.  And I think we’ll have a fair few hours on interesting road surfaces!

In the Deep Santiago Winter