A cozy night in the desert.

Our South American road-trip early this year was a belter – as regular readers already know. As per, thousands of photos are still being sorted to be turned into (hopefully interesting) photo-based stories, with videos getting uploaded too. As usual, I’m sharing practical info along the way: the routes we took, where things are on the map, where we stayed, what the comfort levels were like – that kind of thing. And on today’s menu: where we stayed in Chile’s Atacama Desert in the town of San Pedro de Atacama (here)…

It was a hotel called Our Habitas. It belongs to a chain of stylish hotels in cool locations around the world (Latin America, the Middle East, Namibia…). But this isn’t an ad for the chain or this particular hotel. There are other solid options here too – including simpler and cheaper ones. We just happened to stay here, so that’s what I’ll be writing about. Let’s go!…

Time to check in and get settled:

Whoa – those are some, er… suggestive figurines :). Clearly made by locals or inspired by the local culture:

A little hiccup upon arrival: the staff made a few missteps. First they took forever to get us our keys, then it turned out they’d double-booked a room. We were all traveling as couples, and four to a bed wasn’t exactly the plan :). Eventually the chaos got sorted, everyone somehow got their booked rooms, and we headed off to explore the property.

Overall verdict? Pretty great, actually! It’s all single-story buildings, with rooms in little standalone cottages like these:

Inside: comfortable, practical, and nicely done:

The layout of the grounds overall is a bit maze-like, with paths winding every which way making it easy to get lost:

At least there were signposts to get you back on track to where you’re headed:

All around you: the Atacama. The internet says it’s the driest desert on the planet (though I’d argue that title belongs to central Antarctica). Anyway – barren, rocky desert in every direction, but right here it’s green and easy on the eyes: