Southern Altiplano Day 249 25/05/2015

We were pleasantly surprised to have survived the freezing cold night however both had very disturbed sleep due to our fellow residents and their regular trips to the banos which were located near our room. Most of the ladies were in their early 20's but still had the ability to scream like 4 year olds. Luckily they'd all left before we ventured out in the morning so weren't able to take out our frustration on them! We headed off after breakfast leaving the national park and heading towards Desert Siloli where there are numerous rock formations created by the wind, including the famous Stone Tree (Arbol Piedra). We spent a bit of time climbing some of the structures before heading off. We stopped to take in the views across Laguna Ramaditas and continued on to Laguna Hedionda which is the site of a disused borax mine which was closed c4 years ago as the mineral started to run out. It must have been an incredibly harsh life for the miners living here at this altitude. Continuing north we reached Laguna Canapa, home to flamingos although at this time of year there were only a few feeding on the water. Lovely to see but nothing in comparison to the visit yesterday to Laguna Colorada. The landscape started to become a little less barren as we drove north and we started to see some vicuna but no other evidence of any wildlife. We stopped by a small laguna with more rock formations near the shore including one that looked like a face. Pablo told us about a theory that there was an ancient civilisation living in Bolivia with cities under Lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni. They are believed to have built a network of underground tunnels with the entrance to one being in this laguna. If you want to know more then JM Allen's 'Route to Atlantis' looks very interesting (we can't get it on ebooks so will need to get a hard copy when we get home). From here we drove for a short distance to reach the rock valley, a huge area of strange rock formations created from volcanic lava. We stopped for a walk around, spotting different shapes including a wolf and a condor (clearly helped by the effects of the altitude!). Afterwards we drove to a nearby mining town for lunch, a truly desolate place in the middle of no where. It's hard to believe there would be any kind of settlement here if it wasn't for the mines. Lunch was an enjoyable affair of soup followed by Llama (for Simon), rice, potatoes, beetroot and carrot. We'd agreed with Pablo that we would go off the standard circuit from here. The track took us through agricultural land and over a high pass before dropping down to the village of San Juan. Just north of here we travelled across a small salt flat which has a railway line running across it. The trains serve the mines and cross the flat early in the morning. It would have been a surreal sight to see one passing by as we stood taking in the views. We arrived in Chuvica, on the edge of Salar de Uyuni, where we were staying for the night just after 1600. After a bit of hassle over accommodation we checked in at a salt hotel. Topas hadn't pre booked anything and the hostels weren't keen to rent a dorm for only 2 people. Given we'd paid a premium for the trip we weren't happy to share a dorm. It all worked out in the end and we settled down to a game of cards before dinner. The hostel was almost entirely built of salt with salt floors, furniture and walls. Dinner was cooked by the hostel, soup followed by chicken. potatoes and rice. After a few more hands of cards we headed off for bed, pleased to have extra blankets although it didn't feel as bone shatteringly cold as the night before.

 

Sunrise over Laguna Colorada 

 

The empty refuge 

The Stone Tree 

Enjoying scrambling on the rock formations 

Nearly at the summit! 

Desert Siloli framed by volcanos 

Laguna Ramaditas 

Laguna Hedionda and the remains of the borax mine 

Laguna Canapa 

Spot the andean rabbits - there are at least two 

More rock formations - this one looks like a face 

Heading into the rock valley 

The wolf ... 

And the condor 

Lunch stop 

Desolate mining town 

Looking back over the agricultural lands 

The small salt flat near San Juan 

With railway line 

Our salt hotel at Chuvica 

Sunset over Salar de Uyuni 

The common area in the salt hotel 

Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa Day 248 24/05/2015

We had an early breakfast at the hostel, packed up and waited in anticipation for our lift to the Bolivian border. Everything went to plan and we were picked up just after 0715. We were first on the bus and drove around San Pedro collecting a few other travellers before, to our surprise, stopping off at a hotel on the outskirts of the town for breakfast! After about 30 minutes we headed off to the Chilean border crossing which is just outside the town and only opened at 0800 which is probably why we stopped for breakfast. Immigration was quite slow but luckily dawn was just breaking and we were soon able to stand in the sunshine. From here it was about 50 minutes to Hito Cajon and the Bolivian border, initially on a sealed road but we soon turned off onto a gravel road. The border is not much more than a shack in the desert and we arrived to be greeted by Pablo and Nelson from Topas Travel, our guide and driver for the next 3 days. Immigration was very quick as most other travellers were queuing for visas. It's certainly beneficial to be from the UK, not having to pay reciprocal charges to enter south american countries unlike USA, Canada, Australia and many others. We loaded our bags into the 4WD and set off heading across the desert towards Laguna Verde, stopping at the national park entrance to pay our fees. The park was created in 1973 covering an area of 7,150 sq km. It's one of the world's harshest wilderness regions and an important refuge for many Andean wildlife species, including the vicuna and flamingo which are both protected here. Laguna Verde is a lovely aquamarine lake covering c17 sq km at an altitude of c5000m (more headaches!) and lies in front of Volcan Licancabur. A wonderful sight of lake, volcano and vicuna grazing along the shoreline. We continued to drive through the barren landscape to Laguna Blanca, another wonderful setting surrounded by volcanos. From here we drove through the Dali Desert, named after Salvador Dali due to it's surreal rock formations and on to Termas de Polques, hot springs on the shore of Laguna Salada. Despite the thermal pool being 40 degrees neither of us where tempted to change into our swimwear and take a dip with the outside temperature being only just above freezing. Back in the jeep we continued to Sol de Manana geyser basin. You could smell them before you could see them. The basin is 4950m high and pocketed with boiling mud pots and steaming geysers. At this time in the day there is less water running through and you don't get the build up of pressure to create the high water spurts from the geysers. It was however still very impressive and we trod very carefully as we walked around the area. By now it was early afternoon and we were all hungry. We headed to the small hamlet of Huaylia Jara where we were going to be staying for the evening and had our lunch at the refuge, cooked by Nelson. A very tasty affair of potatoes, rice, vegetables, salad and fried cheese. Pablo had brought some pickled chillies grown in the Amazon region of Bolivia where his father  lives. Simon tried one but had to concede to leave the rest to Pablo! After lunch we drove a short distance to Laguna Colorada which had to be the highlight of the day. The lake is red in colour, due to the micro organisms that live in the water, and fringed in white borax deposits. It has a surface area of c60 sq km but only averages 45cm deep and is the main nesting site for three species of Andean flamingos including the rare James species. There are around 10,000 flamingos on the lake with the oldest being identified by their colour with the red micro organisms turning them pink. It was a beautiful, tranquil spot and the sight of the birds on the red water framed with the white crust and volcanos as backdrop was stunning. We wandered along the lake shore taking in the views before returning to the jeep and heading back to the refuge. By now several other groups had arrived and all of the dorms were occupied. We were glad that we'd been able to get a dorm to ourselves. It was a fairly basic place but did have electricity in the evening. We had a short stroll to see the sunset although it was bone shatteringly cold and we didn't stay out for long. Before dinner we enjoyed a few rounds of cards with Pablo and Nelson although soon realised that Nelson was clearly a card shark! Good job we weren't playing for money. Dinner was cooked by the owners of the refuge, a tasty meal of vegetable soup followed by spaghetti with tomato salsa. With the temperature dropping we headed off to bed and were glad that we were able to make use of the blankets from the spare beds in our dorm. Diane went to bed in full thermals, long sleeve top, socks and hat under two blankets and two bedspreads to help keep warm. The weight of them was quite crushing!

Sunrise over San Pedro 

Laguna Verde 

Surrounding peaks

Taking in the wonderful views  

Grazing vicuna 

Dali Desert 

Geysers Sol de Manana 

Our refuge at Huaylia Jara 

The stunning Laguna Colorada 

Andino, Chileno and James flamingos 

Surrounded by volcanic peaks 

The red water fringed with white borax deposits 

Buried under a pile of blankets in an attempt to keep warm! 

Reflections of Chile

We had 33 days in Chile across 3 different stints and it certainly now rivals Argentina as our favourite South American country. Our key reflections are as follows

• Not yet first world but it's not far off although there is a significant gap between rich and poor, worst apparently of any Latin America country
• Extremely varied and beautiful country, we've visited lakes, forests, glaciers, volcanos, mountains, fjords, islands, desert and geysers in our time here
• However a very geologically unstable area, with the bad flooding in the north at Atacama and the volcanic activity, with smoking top on Volcan Villerica and 3 explosions at Volcan Calbuco, all just in the time we were there
• People are extremely friendly and helpful and English spoken in most major places. They are also very laid back - it's not called Chile for nothing!
• Santiago worth a visit but not as big and cosmoploitian as Buenos Aires
• Good food but not a huge variety though. Has first class red wine (Carmenere is a great red wine grape) and local beers
• Well developed infrastructure makes is really easy to get around, with an efficient and cheap bus service
• We've stayed in some very good accommodation although it's not cheap even by western standards especially in the tourist areas
• Apart from the Salta to San Pedro road it was very easy to cross the border with Argentina
• Street dogs continue to be an issue (as is the case in most South American countries)
• Everything closes on Sunday and between 1230 and 1600 it's siesta time!
• Things become less developed as you head further south into the remoter areas (ie gravel roads in Terra Del Fuego)
• Apart from Valpariso we felt very safe to travel around and be out in the towns and cities at night.
• Easter Island is completely different to mainland Chile and is more akin to the other Pacific Islands. It's a long way to go from Santiago, its not cheap but if you are in Chile it's definately worth it

El Tatio Geysers Day 247 23/05/2015

The cruel, wicked alarm clock woke us at 0430 and we were up and ready for our transport at 0500. It was below freezing and dark and we hoped to get the first pick up again but it was not to be, waiting until 0520 for the minibus to arrive. Our guide Patrico greeted us and we stopped off at 4 hostels picking up other guests. We headed north to visit the El Tatio Geysers which were at an altitude of 4320m (more sore heads!).The journey took a couple of hours which we dozed through only to wake up still very cold on arrival at the park gates. We got off to use the toilets, greeted by a very long queue. It seemed that most of San Pedro were here this morning and Patrico confirmed it was unusually busy probably due to it being a public holiday weekend. After everyone had "relieved themselves" we followed the snake of headlights into the desert area, which we could now see due to it getting lighter, permeated by many huge flumes of steam. Patrico explained the reason for the early start was not to catch the sunlight but to see the geysers spurting in all their glory. As the water runs off underground from the nearby mountains, it builds up pressure at this site, hence the geysers but as the water runs out at 1030/1100 each day you need to be there early to witness its full glory. There were geysers constantly spurting water, some spurting every 3 minutes and others only spurting every 10/15 minutes. We walked around some of them consuming the hot tea and coffee we were given with our breakfasts. Simon also had an egg that had been boiled from one of the geysers! The whole geothermal field was certainly an impressive sight and seemed a lot more "natural" to the one we had visited in Rotorua in New Zealand. We were then offered the chance to swim in one of the hot thermal pools which, noting we had just warmed up in the bright morning sun, we declined. Others took up the offer and as we visited some other geysers we heard screams and "oohs" as people climbed out of the hot water to attempt to dry quickly in the still cold air. We then headed back to the park gates, paid the entrance fees, caught sight of a vicuna and a cooperro and drove back towards San Pedro. En route we saw a Chilean rabbit nearly perfectly camouflaged on the massive piles of rocks at the side of the road. We stopped on route at the pre Colombian village (although it looked more renovated and quite modern with its satellite dishes and mobile phone mast) of Machuca and visited the lovely church there. We arrived back in San Pedro just after one, had some lunch, changed some of our Chilean money into Bolivian and then spent the rest of the afternoon getting our things in order for our 3 day adventure crossing into Bolivia through the salt flats. We've enjoyed the three, very different, trips we've done here. Yesterday was probably our favourite in part due to the solitude in the early morning and views of the volcanos and the salf flats were stunning. Dinner in the evening was at Adobe, recommended to us by Dan and Dawn. Whilst it's our last night in Chile, we were good on the drinks as it's another early start tomorrow with a long day in prospect, crossing the border where hopefully our 4WD and guide will be waiting. They'll definitely be no blog or facebook updates for a few days!

 

Dawn breaking over El Tatio

Warming up in the sunshine 

Spurting geysers 

Nearly lost in the mist 

   

  

  Another cooperra 

A lone vicuna 

The route back to San Pedro 

Spot the chilean rabbit  

Machuca 

The village church 

Altiplano Lagoons Day 246 22/05/2015

The alarm went off at 0530 as we needed to be ready to be picked up at 0600 for our half day tour to the Altiplano lagoons. Whilst it was still dark and sub zero it didn't feel that cold, although we were pleased we were picked up at 0600 prompt. We were first on the bus and over the next 30 minutes it filled up with the other passengers collected from their hostels around the town. We then drove for 90 minutes into the Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos climbing nearly 2000 metres, passing the park office to pay our fees, then onto the first of 2 lagoons at 4100m high. We alighted the bus at the Laguna Miniques to watch the sun rise (helping to warm us as we were at minus 5 degrees) over the water and onto the backdrop of 6000m+ volcanos behind. We then had breakfast with hot tea and coffee al fresco before going to the second stretch of water called Laguna Miscanti. This was just as lovely as the first one, with a similar vista of flat, calm waters and the surrounding volcanos now mirrored in it. From here we drove along the road, passing Vicunas and a very inquisitive Cooperro (a local fox) to the small town of Socaire, a 1000 year old settlement, with twin claims to fame being it is the highest town in Chile (c3100m) and it sits on the Tropic of Capricorn. It also overlooks the largest salt flats in Chile at Salar de Atacama. Our guide Landro explained this was the driest place on earth. Next stop was to descend to the salt flats to visit the Chaxas lagoon. Here on the water were flamingos feeding (they spend 16 hours a day doing so) and their colouring is due to eating the micro organisms. The pinker the flamingo the older it is. On the lakes we saw different birds, including some cute fluffy chicks and also small lizards. The view across the water and salt flats was mesmerising, with the calm water reflecting the volcanos that surrounded us, the chalk white salt flats shimmering with the now strong sun heat and the red and white topped volcanos. A stunning location and we can see why it draws so many visitors. The salt flats are created by the heat evaporating the little water to create the mineral rich deposits which are mined and exported to most of the world for use in fertilisers, making glass, aluminium and salt free products. We then headed back to San Pedro, stopping off at the town of Toconao, with its church built in 1750 (very old for the New World). We got back about 1330, had pizza for lunch then headed back to the hostel to read, sleep and chill before heading out for a meal that evening. We had another early night as we need to be up at 0430 in the morning for our trip to the Geyser del Tatio.

Enjoying the early morning sun

Casting long shadows in the sand 

Lagoon Miniques  

Lagoon Miscanti 

Caricoles volcano 

Well camouflaged vicunas  

A cooperro scavenging for food 

Socaire village church 

Flamingos on Chaxas lagoon 

The view across the Salar de Atacama 

Chaxas lagoon 

Plover chick 

Toconao village 

Toconao village church