Northern Chile - Humberstone & Putre

San Pedro is where we decided to deviate from the well-worn gringo trail through the salt flats on Uyuni, as stunning as it looks, all because I wanted to visit a ghost town…ever since I read about Santa Laura and Humberstone I’ve wanted to go there – a saltpeter mine and attached town in the middle of nowhere which, thanks to becoming a World Heritage site, has been remarkably preserved. It was built when the nitrate industry was in its infancy around 1858 and went through various people's hands until it closed for good in 1961, leaving a fascinating mine and related buildings not to mention a wonderful art deco cinema, church, marketplace, plus oodles of social history. When you’re in the middle of nowhere it’s hard to imagine that nearly 300 other sites have totally disappeared as the locals have appropriated the machinery and expensive wooden buildings for their own uses.

Our last stop in Chile before crossing the border to Bolivia was Putre. At an altitude of over 3,500 metres it made perfect training for La Paz. This is well and truly off the beaten path, so we hired a local coca-chewing guide to show us the sights. Its situation on the edge of the Lauca National Park gave us even more spectacular scenery, wonderful wildlife and woozy heads!