A 4am alarm is never pleasant, but alas, we want to see the Tatio Geysers at sunrise and doing so necessitates an early wake-up. We are picked up by Mauricio, the same guide from Cosmos Andinos, who toured us around yesterday, and the whole bus minus the driver proceeds to fall asleep until we arrive at the geysers two hours later. When we arrive, the temperature is well below freezing and thus a bit uncomfortable, but the excitement helps us warm up.
The scenery again is other-worldly, and we end up reflecting the landscape’s energy as we run around taking pictures of each other and of the geysers. For the rest of the bus, I feel that both the geysers and our group serve as two forms of morning entertainment. Whether it is one of my friend’s rabbit shaped beanie, all of us taking ridiculous silhouette photos in front of the geyser’s mist, or just the fact that we are constantly out of breath because we’re running around at 4000 plus meters, we are a bit of a spectacle.
Before returning home and stopping every couple minutes for a photo opportunity, we try the nearby hot springs as the outside temperature begins to warm up.