Flamingo's, salt flats and a change of plan...

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The way north from La Serena to San Pedro de Atacama was long but pretty uneventful, except that for once the movie was shown in English not Spanish (volume still turned up to max of course) so for a change I didn't need to play the 'make the story up' game (although I've discovered that sometimes the made up version is better than the original)!!! Most of the 18plus hours passed with me peering out at the arid, often moon-like landscape surrounding us, one that was full of rocks, sand and not much else, seemed to go on forever but at times was still quite stunning.

Generally I'm not in the habit of booking accommodation ahead and tend to opt for the turn up and wing it approach instead. I'd only regretted it once back in Bariloche when I got to spend an hour cursing my stupidity as I shelped my rucksack up and down hilly streets in search of somewhere that wasn't either a) full or b) a fleapit. This time though my lack of organisation paid off as a few hostel owners came to meet the bus and I ended up in a random one that wasn't in the guide book. Woohoooo. Better still they organised small group tours for guests so the next day I headed off with a Danish couple and German girl to Salar de Atacama, the largest salt flat in Chile and, at 3,000 km², the second largest in the world after Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

We left San Pedro before sunrise in a bid to 'beat the crowds', something which didn't seem like such a great plan as I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30am but which we all later agreed was worth the pain - it meant we were on the road in time to witness a stunning sunrise and arrived as the park opened, a good 40mins before anyone else. The obvious advantage of arriving early was getting the place to ourselves for a while. However it also meant we got to see (relatively!) close up hundred or so flamingos that wade in the waters of Laguna Chaxa. It seems these long legged birds with their pinkish feathers can be a little camera shy and as the other tour groups began arriving they flew off, seeking peace in the far corners of the lagoon. The lagoon is quite stunning even without the flamingos and other birds that live on its shores. A tranquil spot, it's still blue waters are completely surrounded by a large white expanse of salt crystals which set against the pinky soft hues of the early morning light made for an amazing view. Unlike Salar de Uyuni the surface of the salt plain here is permanently free of water giving it a very rough gnarled almost rocky appearance.

Back in the jeep we drove to a small village where the welcome sign proclaimed it had just 5 residents. Yet as we sat under a tree tucking into our breakfast we counted 1.... 2.... 5... 9... hang on a minute! We briefly pondered whether it was the same person changing outfits to confuse us, but given they seemed over a certain age and the effort involved in a clothes swap, probably not ;o)

The next hour took us up and up along winding dusty tracks where gentle hues of orange, pink and brown on the dry landscape made for a stunning contrast with the crisp cloudless blue Altiplano sky above. Eventually we reached the top of a hill where below us lay the stunning Laguna Miscanti, it's deep blue waters towered over at each end by the massive Cerro Miscanti and Miñiques volcano. Despite the altitude (the lake is @ 4,500m high) there's no snow up here - it's just too dry and hot and when it does snow, it only lasts a few days.

Completely wowed by the view below us we opted to walk down from the ridge of the hill, alongside the shore of Laguna Miscanti and onto Laguna Miniques, a distance that wasn't far but which the altitude made hard work. OK so I know I've not done much in the way of proper exercise over the last 9 months but seriously! Every breath was a struggle and I was walking like an old woman. Fortunately (?!) the others were in the same state so we struggled along together.... slowly! Laguna Miscanti was stunning and I'd already taken a zillion photos, but I was blown away by Laguna Miniques. Smaller than its neighbour, surrounded by a rim of white salt and with a family of vicuna (a relative of the llama that lives in the high alpine areas of the Andes) walking along its edge the view really was quite beautiful.

The next morning I headed out with Julia, the German girl from the hostel to Pukará de Quitor, the remains of a pre-colombian town dating from the 12th Century. It's only about 3km out of town but the 30plus degree temperatures and the strength of the sun made for some seriously hot walking. Although it probably didn't help that we left it until mid morning before heading out by which time we were under the full blaze of the sun! San Pedro is a small dusty village, with one storey mud brick houses and is the kind of place I half expected to see tumbleweed blowing through, particularly in the more residential backstreets where our hostel was. But it's set amid a green oasis with the spectacular Volcan Licancabur (a 5,900m symmetrical cone) towering high in the distance behind it. And that's the view I sat appreciating from the top of Pukará de Quitor for a while.

Julia and I had arranged to go on a tour to the Moon Valley that afternoon, a trip which ended up being one of those 'learning' experiences but not quite in the way we'd expected! Neither of us speak great Spanish, more survivor Spanish as I call it - enough to chat about our trips, sort out travel, accommodation and food but not too much else. And it really wasn't, we discovered, up to discussions of geology. We knew the tour was in Spanish when we booked it but we were feeling tight/optimistic and figured we'd be able to work it out. Ha!!! Needless to say we saw some amazing views, the guide spoke lots and we didn't understand a word of it.... other than when we had to be back on the bus! So lesson learnt, don't be such a tight wad and pay the extra for an English speaking guide!

Anyway, we started off peering out over the rather cheerfully named Valley of Death, a reddish landscape of sand dunes and spiky folded terrain that´s thought to resemble Mars. After a few more viewpoint stops we headed off to the Valley of the Moon. One of the driest places on earth its full of weird stone formations, sand dunes, escarpments and a surface that looks like a sprinkling of white snow has just fallen..... except it's salt. It was at the top of the sand dune that we (along we every other tourist in San Pedro!) ended the day, with the sun setting over the escarpment in front of us and the moon rising in the sky behind us. Simply stunning.

My plan had always been to leave San Pedro via the Andes to Salta in Northern Argentina, spend a week exploring around there and then move north into Boliva. Except the bus to Salta only goes 3 times a week, muppet here didn't book it in time, the person in front of me in the queue bought the last ticket and faced with the thought of spending a few days waiting for the next bus (don't get me wrong, I loved it here but I'd done everything I wanted to) I waved goodbye to the possibility of going back to Argentina and bought a bus ticket to Iquique on the Chilean coast instead!

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Comments

[Josevich]

Stunning
your pictures are absolutely stunning. thanks for sharing. sooo beautiful

[deleted_49612]

Great blog and photos, as usual! :)

[golfkat]

Great Story
I enjoyed your trip and your writing style. I am headed to SCL and points beyond in 2 weeks.