There resides a vast number of birds in this area, noisy little things in a kaleidoscope of colours, many hawks eagles and condors call the area home also, John found a condor feather measuring about 20" in length, Days have been spend researching and casually exploring. We spent a few days in another Hostel in town called Pacha Mama as Chakana had a prior booking and had no room, Its a sweet little place but oh so cold at night, they have a 4 month old alpaca who has the run of the place, so cute. We met a german lass called Regina who was fun to hang out with and a gentleman from Switzerland called Dieter who was 75 years old and could outwalk all of us. An orchestra filled the square of Putre one ... read more

We decided to go down to the docks to see the much talked about Sealions, They are huddled on the rocks near where the fishermen disembark and unload their catch, the growls and the smell of rotten fish and bad breath greet you as you near these huge creatures,a large male lay lounging on a large rock enjoying the suns rays, we watched as the females and their babies frolicked in the surf, one large male approached the other who was lazing in the sun, a few grunts took place but it was obvious that the approaching male was younger and stronger, the maturer of the two threw a few shapes and appeared to put up a defense but it was bravado and he soon moved on as the "king" of the sealions took his place ... read more

May 10th Another sleepless night, regardless of beer and wine the previous evening, neither of us slept, the altitude was kicking our arises, Got up and had another lovely breakfast, so nice to have good coffee in a warm homely kitchen. Today we decided to take a look at Parque Lauca, one of the highest national parks in the world, we certainly weren't disappointed………. Franklin our guide picked us up about 9am, we packed a lunch and took off in a little 4wd. We entered the park and stopped at some caves, They were used for many years by some travelers as a rest stop as they are situated on the side of the road that leads from Bolivia to Chile. Further along Volcan Parinacota came into view, Majestic and enormous it dwarfs everything around it, ... read more

We hired a cab the see the geoglyphs in the Azapa valley, it was a trade route and pictures of Llamas are engraved on the face of the surrounding slopes as a kind of map for travelers in the area. We stopped at a small church and as soon as we were out of the car we herd and dog yelp then a bang and then the most horrendous wails, we ran around the corner and found a young man laying on the side of the road in distress, We think he had swerved to miss the dog and plowed into a fence on his quad bike, the result was a dislocated shoulder and a nasty compound fracture on the same arm, since he was wearing only shorts and a t shirt he was covered in ... read more

El Museo Azapa de San Miquel We decided to go see the pre Columbian museum in the Azapa Valley, The trip out was interesting as we wound through olive orchards which survived on well water in the arid climate. Azapa de San Miquel is a wee village nestled within the purple valley walls where the museum is housed in a new impressive building surrounded by beautiful gardens with rock art scattered around. The artifacts within the museum are from 6000 years ago right up to the Spanish Independence, full of beautiful fabrics, fascinating tools and a huge olive press in the exit. We wandered up towards town to eat having lunch in a restaurant ominously named Picos de Mueritos (picks of the little dead) Their pork Sunday dinner is designed to feed hungry rugby players with ... read more