Altiplano Adventure Continues...

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Awoke to a thin covering of snow across the mountainous landscape, with a few sheep grazing from the grass tufts. We crossed more dry grey desert land, dotted only with tufts and coco plants. We crossed the railway at Salar de Chiguona, where we had to pass through a military base and were checked briefly.

Next we saw some weird rock formations on the grey dusty desert floor, shaped by wind erosion, including dome shaped pancake rocks and boulders. We saw further lakes with mountain backdrops. Lots more vicunas, a few vizcacha, alpacas, and flamingoes visible within the lakes, covered with a scattering of bright green algae. (There were a few baby flamingoes amongst the beautiful scenery).

We stopped off for lunch, and ate fried egg batter, beans and salad prepared by you've guessed it Rosemary. (Incidently Rosemary was very helpful in describing all the landscape formations in Spanish, which we tried our best to comprehend). We spotted a small wild Culpeo fox with striking markings, whilst we enjoyed great views of the lakes and bright pink flamingoes. Then we stopped at a small dusty town for snacks, where a small boy took a fondness to Nick - we think he was after his money!

Later we arrived at our accommodation overlooking the salt flats, with huge strangely shaped cacti dispersed along the hillside. We were greeted by a friendly puppy and small child, thankfully slightly better accommodation tonight. Rosemary knocked up a veggie spag bol, which looked much more edible than the meat version! Lights out at 9pm again, this time boy and girl separate dorm rooms. Much more comfortable beds and cold showers which most people decided to miss out on. We had the luxury of flushing toilets, although Nick kept getting stuck in the bathroom as there was no door handle, and the tap cunningly soaked each of the guys when you tried to turn it off! Dorms being slightly noisy - snoring etc, we tried to gain as much sleep as possible. However still overshadowed by slight feelings of altitude sickness and dehydration.

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