After Geysers

After the Geyser Field we went on to tour a few things in the area. A few kilometers down the road from the geysers we stopped as the tour guides gave us little bits of information on the local geography, geology and flora and fauna.



In the next two photos you can see this funny rabbit like creature with a long tail.




This time we spotted some guanacos (vicuñas) on the Chilean side of the border.We stopped at one small lake on this post-geyser tour and it had a different species of flamencos found only in Chile.

We stopped in a small town where the locals were selling their wares and local food.
Notice anything out of place here? I thought it was funny that street lights were present. I got the feeling that this little village could have the look and feel of conventional modern town if it wanted, but that it chose to stay this way for tourist reasons. If so, I support them.
At the airport in Calama, returning to Santiago.

Wanna Go Skiing?

After Laguna Hedionda we stopped at another lake, which was at the base of a mountain that I think looks kind of like a ski basin, hence the title of this post.Unlike the other lake, the name of which I forgot, I never learned the name of this one.
You can tell from the tags attached to the ears of these alpaca that they belong to someone.
At this point the landscape was beginning to change and include more vegetation.


See, don't those lines running down look like ski runs?

Laguna Hedionda

Laguna Hedionda the "Stinky Lake" and they weren't kidding. It really wasn't that bad, but the closer you go to the lake the less pleasant it was. It was just so beautiful as was all the other lakes that the smell was easy to forget quickly.

I took a picture of the signs, to prove that this is indeed named the "Stinky Lake" and because I'd already forgotten the name of the last lake, at this point, and I was determined not to forget the name of this one. Also the English sign is funny. "Please use the bathroom." Since they charged for the toilets, I couldn't be sure if this was a plea not to go in nature, a suggestion to go while you have the chance or a sales pitch.

I think whatever was causing this yellow hue on the banks was what was causing the smell.




Sita standing out on a salt flat... We had no idea how much more salt we were going to encounter soon.
A flamenco egg. I thought myself to be quite lucky to find this, indeed no one else spotted one of these. I think this egg was abandoned, or inviable.
More flamenco tracks.
At this lake I was determined to see how close I could get to the flamencos to capture their pictures the next few photos represent my attempts.





After getting fairly close and capturing the above photo I attempted to move in more and subsequently caused the pink-feathered friend to fly away.

Laguna Roja

I am pleased to be able to finally post what was, for me, the highlight of our Bolivia trip, Laguna Roja, the Red Lake. This is a vast shallow salt lake with an incredible pink/red color. Most of these photos do not have a caption above them as they can just be enjoyed and appreciated without explanation.

Approaching the lake you can see that there was just the common rocky desolate landscape.
Our first glimpse of the lake in it's full magnitude.



The banks of the lake were quite lush in some places.
Do you see all those pink dots? Those are some of the thousands of flamencos that inhabit this lake. The flamencos apparently feed on a bacteria that grow in this lake.
Pictures of the flamencos.


About two miles from the lake is where we stayed the first night. There seems to be a little settlement there which exists solely to serve the tourists that need a place to stay. I believe these people brought some llamas with them, which you can see grazing here at the edge of the lake.
There seemed to be fresh water springs that fed this lake, because there was clear water at the front of the lake which appeared to be flowing towards the center.
The salt content made for some white banks.

Sita and I at the edge of the lake. (I was still wearing shorts but I finally got the message that I needed a jacket at this point.)









With different influences in different places you could find many different colors present in this lake. Here near the edge the color appears a bit orange.
I thought if I took pictures of me playing in the mud and pooling water in my hands, I could convey more of the experience of it.


The water looks clearer in my hand but it still maintains it's reddish color.







As you can see in the last photo these flamencos were walking away from me as I tried to get a closer photo of them, eventually I guess I got too close for comfort and they flew away, but this offered a nice picture of them with their wings spread.





You could find many flamenco feathers at the bank of the lake. We brought some home with us so if ever you're in our home and you want to see them just ask.
The Laguna Roja was another point were we converged with other tours, despite the crowd of people (around 25-35) I was probably the only one to enter the lake. Come on, you knew I'd do it. Now those shorts seem to be a wise decision, huh?
The consequence of entering the lake.
The lake looks deep when you take a picture at the level of the water.


The view of the flamencos. "Hi sweetie, thanks for holding my shoes."
Flamenco remains.





We were so blessed to experience this angle of the sun on the lake.