I wake in a a daze, feeling better but dehydrated. Apart from peeing dark yellow urine during the night I slept undisturbed. I needed it.

I had previously, before my tour to Bolivia, booked myself into another day long local tour of the sights around San Pedro de Atacama. Now with feeling fragile, there was no way that was still happening.

I emerged from my room blinking in the sunlight feeling as if I had just hibernated for three months.

Food.

On my way to the local café, I passed by Lithium tours and explained my situation. They fully refunded my cancelled tour, but was I still able to go to see the Valley of the Moon, an attraction of the Atacama desert? It would only be a couple of hours and would return not long after sunset. I agreed.

I chilled, shopped at the local artisans tables for souvenirs, and changed my Bolivianos back to Chilean pesos, waiting til the bus pick up at 4 pm.

The bus took us along more dry dusty roads with dramatic cliff drop-offs toward what looked like an old quarry. That’s what it used to be, mined for salt and rock until it became a national park whose landscape resembled the moon’s craters, hence ‘Valle de la Luna’.

We start with a short trek through some canyons examining the salt formations within the rock. It feels like we are in a barren moonscape.

When we emerge, our guide picks up a piece of rock telling us it has salt within it. Some people lick it to test that. Personally I have seen enough salt lately, so I don’t need to.  Then he tells us it has traces of arsenic. We all look at each other while he laughs. He is telling the truth but it is in minuscule amounts.

Now we continue in the bus to another crag, which we can climb, that has sheer sides ending in a rocky ravine at the bottom. I ascend through the sand and rubble, feeling much improved, ensuring I am keeping up my water levels. It is hot and I am sweating.

I am a little concerned when we reach the apex and it ends in a narrow point with cliffs on either side. People walk and move as if the 300 metre ravine beside them means nothing. But I remind myself that I conquered Macchu Picchu so I endeavour to keep up and go as high. The views from the top are, of course, amazing.

Now for the finale. Sunset overlooking the tall canyon peaks. When we arrive to the spot there are at least 10 other tour buses there disgorging tourists for the same experience.

I wander as far away from people as possible, but never close to the edge. Many defy the roped off sections, clambering and balancing on rickety rocks to get that all important selfie, or sitting with their legs actually dangling over the cliff edge. Not me.

We hold our positions and our breath as the sky fades to mauve and the sun sinks below the cliffs on the horizon.

I am glad I visited the moon.

I am glad I visited the ‘planet’ of the Salar de Uyuni.

But now it’s time to leave the Atacama desert and otherworlds and return to civilisation and the city of Santiago.