Attack of the 50-foot Man!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Southwest Circuit is a 3-4 day 4×4 tour of various natural sites between Uyuni and the Chilean border. The highlight is the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt lake in the world. There were six of us on the tour, including two friends from San Francisco (both of whom came down with traveler’s diarrhea during the tour), a Belgian guy (also on a “career break”), and a French guy. Our driver was Miguel and our cook was Nellie.
The tour started at a train graveyard. From there, we headed to XXX, a small village on the outskirts of the salar, where salt is processed and packaged for sale. We then headed out onto the salar, where we came across workers mining the salt. At the salt hotel (non-functional), we took some photos and checked out the swimming pool. We then headed to the Isla XXX, a large cactus-covered outcropping with beautiful views of the salar. After lunch (alpaca), we took lots of salar photos. Since the salar stretches out in all directions to the horizon, interesting perspectives and poses can be achieved. We continued on across the salar with magnificent views of volcano XXX and the flat expanse of the salt lake. We took a pit stop during which Miguel serviced our vehicle for some unknown reason (but during which we were able to take more photos). Leaving the salar, we stopped to visit the Galaxias caves, which contain fragile, complexly shaped rock formations. In the evening, we arrived at a hospedaje in XXX. Although obscured by the moon, the night sky was filled with stars and I attempted some photos.
Monday, November 30, 2009
In the morning we crossed a set of railroad tracks. Miguel told us how these tracks continued into Chile and on to the coast. We crossed near a small salar. We stopped to view a volcano; a single large fumarole was easily visible. From there, it was on to a set of colorful, shallow lakes that shelter flamingos (James, Chilean, and Andean) and other birds. The flamingos dredge their bills through the mud, filtering out microorganisms for food. In the afternoon, we stopped to view rock formations, including the much photographed “flower” rock. At Lugana Colorado, we observed vivid red coloration caused by algae and microorganisms. A very large group of flamingos was also visible here. In the evening we slept at a very windy hospedaje along with tour groups from various other companies. We had mulled red wine after dinner.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
We got a very early (5:00am) start to see the Sol de la Manana (Morning Sun) geysers in the early morning light. These geothermal formations include hot pools, smoking geysers, and bubbling mud pots. It is similar to Yellowstone National Park, except no boardwalks or fences are in place; apparently, visitors occasionally step through the crusty ground if they get too close. At the rock formation know as Piedras Salvador Dali we viewed a collection of surreally placed boulders. Finally, we arrived at Laguna Verde, a green-ish lake at the foot of volcano XXX. The lake gets its coloration from mineral content, thus no flamingos are present. A short drive later Miguel deposited us at the Bolivian-Chilean border crossing where we said goodbye to the rest of the group. They were continuing back to Uyuni, completing the circuit.
We took a shuttle bus to San Pedro de Atacama and quickly noticed some differences in Chilean culture. Indigenas or indigenous dress were completely absent, vehicles were modern, prices were much higher, and tourists were prevalent. San Pedro de Atacama is an oasis town in the middle of the Atacama Desert, and all food and water are transported in. After an expensive (and good) lunch, we elected not to stay in town and instead continue on to the Elqui Valley area north of Santiago. We did see the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) rock formation from the bus as we were leaving town. After changing buses in Calama, we night bussed it to La Serena.
Did you really go to XXX? I didn’t know that you were going to a triple X kind of place! You and Beth Ann are always so classy.
Yeah.. I need to go back and fill in the names of towns and volcanoes and such.
Also… I love the 50 ft. man photo!