San Pedro is an oasis which is now a huge tourist centre for visiting the surrounding spectacular desert scenery.
I call it an adobe village.
The place mats at the restaurant we liked confirmed my view!
and the view from the window was of adobe walls.
We enjoyed several meals here
In the evening a fire was lit to warm us - it was quite chilly in the evenings.
The streets were unpaved, the interior houses protected by adobe walls.
And strong locks
Some, even had very impressive statues outside!
Thorn trees trees grew in abundance, loving the heat.
Horses riding is very popular.
These small white village churches can be seen everywhere in south America.
The ceiling is made from cactus plants.
It doesn´t look very strong, but has held the roof up for 200 years!
The old bell arrived with the Conquistadores in the 1500´s.
The statues up by the altar are very simplistic, but very moving.
In a side chapel I was struck by the expression on the faces of Jesus and Mary
this statue was obviously carved by someone else.
the roof of the church was just mud.
The village square is always a hive of activity. Locals laughing,
Families chatting,
and children playing.
San Pedro is also a hippy enclave. Even Abysinnians get here!
The streets are lined with a lot of touristy shops,
but the village keeps its character and someone insists on making the shop signs uniform.
There is an ATM which makes an ideal bed for a stray cat!
The streets, also, have a uniformity to them.
Adobe walls and rough roads!
with an active volcano in the background.
I challenge you to guess what this is?
Ha, it happens every 10 years or so - rain!!
The day we left we took a day tour to the salt lakes as we came back the heavens opened and it poured with rain. It was so bad I didn´t dare to take out the camera!
Typical - we arrive and it rains! Truely - it rains every 10 years!
We took two trips while we were in San Pedro, the first was to Death and Moon valleys, with a sunset viewing.
The second was to see lagoons and birds on the altiplana, a salt lake at 4,000m and the really big salt lake and its Flamingoes just outside San Pedro.
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