Ode to the Flamingo

---

I've never felt this way before, but I am amazed by the flamingo. I admit it's always been an eye-catching animal, in a freak-of-nature sort of way. Flamingos are pink and funny-looking, good for some amusement. But now, after visiting the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounding landscape, dotted with multicolored lagoons, I feel a newfound respect for the bird.

Up here at 4000 meters above sea level (and even higher!), three species of flamingos have their home: the flamenco andino (Andean flamingo), with a black butt; the flamenco chileno (Chilean flamingo), nice and pink; and the smallest, the flamenco de James (James' flamingo), a white variety.

I cannot understand how this silly creature balances that oblong body on scrawny little legs, especially while bent over with its long neck twisted to better shove its beak into the mud. That seems like enough of a challenge. Now, imagine this environment these three species of flamingos have....I'm telling you, it's not Disney World or the Caribbean, with warm waters and plenty of snacks to find in the water. These flamingos, at such high altitude, live in quite an inhospitable environment. The winds are fierce and temperatures drop below zero at nighttime. On land, barely a green thing grows. I saw a total of three insects while wandering around the weird rock formations and volcanic pebbled soil. It's a lonely place. For company, the flamingos have a few birds, groups of llamas-vicunas-alpacas (those fluffy, docile camelids), vizcachas (adorable rabbit-type things with long tails), and the zorro Antonio - a fox, which most likely doesn't frequent the lagoons just for a smooth cocktail.

Yet these flamingos plant their feet in the muck and ignore all the factors stacked against them. They're happy with the algae and microorganisms the lagoons offer. The shallow, salty waters, which stained my Puma sneaks red and brown and white, are the birds' sustenance.

Barren, bleak, baking by day, freezing by night, blindingly white, windswept, wide open, the flamingos' home has all the negative characteristics any animal would choose to avoid. The landscape of the salt flats, especially, is even so unsettling that sometimes you feel like it's otherworldly. Sometimes you feel like you're not on solid ground, like you're sliding off the edge of the Earth.

Somehow, impossibly, it's beautiful. Harsh and bare, but so incredible. So unique that it leaves one speechless.

---

Photos

Natalie in the nothingness
12000 square kilometers of salt. Blue sky, white ground, a bit disorienting, if you can imagine it!

Specks on this great planet
The Salar reallys forces you to put things in perspective.

Incahuasu
'Inca House' a.k.a. Fisherman's Island, a mound of earth with gigantic cacti in the middle of the blinding salt.

Grazing
Llamas and sheep, vital to the people of southwestern Bolivia. They munch on whatever minimal vegetation they can find, by the lagoons or in the middle of the nothingness.

Typical landscape
A little scrubby...

Volcanic Crater
Once upon a time, this whole area was under the ocean (thus the salt!), and once upon another time, volcanoes spewed their fiery wrath...leaving behind craters and chipped pieces of volcanic soil.

The Stars of the Show
Really, how do they do it?

Laguna Verde
Perfect reflection! Copper and arsenic make this one green...Laguna Colorado is another one, with algae and microorganisms that make it red. Laguna Blanca, white. The funny thing is that the colors only show up in the morning. As the day goes on, wind blows across the water, stirring things up so much that the colors disappear and the lagoons become clear.

Termas
We woke up the last morning at 4:30, opened the door to the chill, and set off on our way. Around 7:30, this hot springs bath was just the thing. 35 degrees Celsius and soft with minerals, it completely refreshed us.

The Road Ahead, the Road Behind
Hours and hours of this. It's hypnotizing.

Gorgeous Mountains Everywhere
Everywhere.

Comments

[Grands]

impression
The nature looks unnatural! The photographs are beatiful. We love you and miss you.

[Mom]

you look great!
Nat, I loooove the pictures! The place looks like in some fictional world. It's worth the trouble of going that far. And you look great too! Love you. Besos, Mom.

[Russ]

Profound observations!
And what WAS the story with the camera? You never told!

[Alex]

seems like an incredible place -- have fun on the last leg of your trip!

[Alex]

maps.google.com
Take a look at the Salt Flats on Google Maps (satellite or hybrid view). It really is a huge white blob amongst all the green and brown. Typing in Uyuni, Bolivia will get you there.

[dad]

Great pictures
What an incredilble place! These flamingos must be lost - all their relatives moved to Florida long time ago. Happy travels!

[Mark]

You should become not just a journalist but photojournalist!!

[Mark and Abbey]

just for the record when Abbey saw these pictures she said, "man, Natalie looks sexy!"