San Pedro

Breakfast at our lodgings largely comprises bread and jam. The Chileans are bread crazy and eat it with practically every meal, even if they also eat rice. There are many different kinds of bread, the one which we ate this morning comes in small sturdy rounds with dimples in the top, and is called pan amasado - literally 'kneaded bread'.

Pan-demonium

As we leave by the front door, we are confronted by the imposing presence of the volcanic mountain, Licancabur, its bulk split between Chile and Bolivia (unevenly in favour of the former), as it rests on the border between the two countries.

Licancabur

The mountain's peak rises to an elevation of almost 6km (at 5,920m it is around two-thirds of an Everest). Its summit is well beyond the limit at which people should suffer from oxygen deprivation and potentially pass out. This is around 15,000 feet (4,572m), the altitude at which I last year leapt out of a plane. The reason for not ascending higher was that low pressure would cause us to pass out in the unpressurised cabin of the plane. However, climbers make the ascent far more gradually than an aircraft, acclimatising as they go, meaning they can climb beyond this limit, even if they eventually need oxygen tanks at the summit (as in the case of Everest).

At an elevation of only 2,400m, altitude sickness can still cause problems. However, a departing German couple gave us some dried coca leaves and sweets with essence of coca, in case we have trouble ascending farther. The coca leaf is the same as is processed to produce cocaine, but the alkaloids are present in such low amounts in its raw form that it shouldn't be habit forming. Nevertheless, it is illegal to take the leaf across borders.

In the last few days before we left, Santiago had become much cooler with the transition from autumn to winter. San Pedro, however, has cold mornings and nights, but an intense sun that heats up the ground and walls of the buildings. We soaked up some of the sun we had been missing before taking a walk into town.

Aside from the main square, with the currently being restored church and high-profile police station for the Carabineros, the main street in town is Caracoles.

Ever since yesterday, I've been seeing this shape

The volcano looms over the town and manages to insinuate itself into any view. Practically every place in town is a restaurant, tourist agency, or artisan craft shop. Or craft beer brewery!

Atacama craft beer

Actually, there is only one brewery, Cervecería Saint Peter, which seems to be tucked away somewhere on Toconao, but which appears to be fronted by the restaurant Ayllu. This stocks bottled beers by the brewery that claims that "el desierto no es tan seco" (the desert is not as dry) since they have been in operation.

I'm not sure where they source their water, as there isn't much in the arid desert, but the adjuncts certainly have a local flavour. When we were there, three beers were available, each unique to Atacama as they use ingredients native to the region: A golden ale with rica rica (a verbena-like herb that gives a lemony, soapy, sorachi-hop taste), a Scotch ale with chañar (a fruit that is processed into a sweet dark molasses), and a Porter with algarrobo (a green pod-like fruit that is also used to produce an atacamenian liquor for celebrations).

Despite only stopping by to sample a couple of beers, we were given a small plate of rice to eat. We thought this was the waitress mothering us, so that we didn't drink on an empty stomach, as she was also concerned we would burn sat outside. However, it transpires that proprietors in San Pedro are nervous of serving drinks without food, since the authorities shut down a number of unlicensed venues where tourists were routinely getting drunk.

To be honest, we probably would have eaten a meal, but San Pedro is expensive by Chilean standards. Prices seems to be roughly 1.5 to 2 times as dear as Santiago (the beers were 4,500CLP, versus 2,800 for similar artisan ales in the capital, while a plate of chorrillana would have set us back 12,000, and could be had in Santiago for under 6,000). Given this, we approached the local market to get some produce for cooking at home.

The vegetables were good quality and we simply threw together a medley of tomato, aubergine, onion, and courgette on rice, set off by a guacamole made from the most magnificently ripe and tasty avocados. After weeks of eating bread and stodge in Santiago, it is a pleasure to tuck into a plate of fresh and tasty vegetables.

Vegetable medley

Avocados are abundant in South America and delicious. I believe the taste is so good because they are allowed to ripen on the vine, rather than being cold-shipped as green bullets to the UK, where they sit in the fruit bowl for two weeks before being forgotten about and turning brown.