Alien landscpaes

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After leaving the Bambi Hotel, we headed south towards the Laguna Llancelo (sp?) an oasis-like lake found in the middle of a desert surrounded by volcanoes about 100km south of Malargue. We had been told by the tourist office that a guide was needed but this seemed a little fishy since the roads were public and a park ranger with interpretation centre was built near the lagoon. My suspicions were well founded since upon arriving in the park, the ranger explained all the rules in the park, what could be seen, where the flamingoes would be and how we were to get there, he said that a guide was not mandatory and really not needed. Not a big fan of tourism agents who lie to your face buit hey that´s the game I guess.

Trying to describe this landscape is difficult but I will try. Above your head is a blue blue sky, without clouds, the landscape is desert with soaring volcanic peaks dotting the landscape to the East, while the snowcapped Andes rise in the west. The earth is coloured red, while the sparse green vegetation compliments this martian terrain. In contrast to these, a green-blue lagoon appears on the horizon, stretching effortlessly and seemingly infinetly towards oblivion.

Signs warning of Emu appeared and we were eager to see the desert wildlife. After a brief conversation with the park ranger, we drove towards the lagoon in eager anticipation of seeing Flamingoes. We arrived at the source of the lagoon, finding clear, ice cold water bubbling up from the ground feeding a clear stream that was filled with green vegetation and hundreds of tiny fish. In the trees surrounding the source were birds chirping; it was truly the oasis in an otherwise barren desert. Following the flow of the water we crept deeper into the lagoon´s estuary where dozens of birds cirlced overhead, or sung from the shrubs clinging to the edge of the growing water body. The fish were abundant and it would have been a great place to throw a line in for a fresh trout supper.

We abruptly interupted a courting pair of some foreign birds after surprising them around a bend. They quickly lept into the air and began dive bombing us, in what looked to be a protective assault of a ground nest near-by. It was just then that we saw a small group of pink flamingoes, standing in this salty brine feeding on whatever flamingoes eat. It was surpirsing how exiting it was to see these unusual birds in their natural environment. It was even more impressive seeing these birds fly away when we neared, seeing the bright red feathers of their wings exposed in the air. They are a beautiful bird which I did not expect to see in Argentina, maybe I assumed that they were an African animal more at home on the Serengetti then in the Argentinian desert.

On our way back to the truck, we were followed by a beautiful pair of brown and white hawks who performed aerial acrobats for us as we meandered back along the edge of the estuary. These new found friends were a pleasant treat and seemed to enjoy our company as much as we enjoyed theirs.

We left the lagoon and made our way to a small volcanic hill that was supposed to provide amazing panoramic views of the lake from the peak. Walking for perhaps 20 minutes up tyhe crumbling volcanic rock, we arrived at the summit and were treated to amazing views of the lagoon, surrounding volcanoes and distant Andes, great call by Laurence to suggest this viewpoint.

Our journey continued South through increasingly spectacular volcanic landscapes until the fading light of day forced us to camp along the rio Grande. We finished the day off with a cold beer and bottle of wine under a southern star filled sky, while lightning exploded in the valley next to us, briefly igniting the desert sky. It was another great day in Argentina´s lesser known regions and definetly one for the scrap book.

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Comments

[Cherie]

Happy Birthday Annetta !! You and Scott are missing some unbelievably bad weather here. We can tell you all about it when you get home. Love and Hugs.