South America Day 25
The Southern Desert.
As soon as we were under way we started seeing vicuñas. They were everywhere! I guess that's why they're not protected in Bolivia like they are in Peru. The locals don't seem in too much of a rush to kill them.
We stopped briefly in a small village to get supplies. It would be the last shop we would see for a couple of days.We skirted around a small salt lake and ended up in a valley that looked more like a place on Mars. The spec of civilisation was actually a military base & being that it was a matter of a few kilometres away from the Chilean border, was the front line of defence for Bolivia. Our driver gave them some treats & cocoa leaves. These guys do it tough out in the middle of the dessert.
Vulcan Ollague
Below, see it is active. Promise! Granted it's not like the lava spewing volcanoes in Hawaii, but it is active.
At one point we had to hop out of the cars & walk up this hill. Apparently the road was so rough that us passengers without our seat belts would have been bashed around too much. Better we went for a stroll.
This
was our lunch spot. Laguna Canapa is one of a number of salty lakes in
the Bolivian dessert. Not a bad outlook for a picnic.
The amazing thing is how much life thrives despite the caustic
environment. The flamingos love it! It's exactly the right conditions
for the algae they eat. They were not at all what I'd expected to see in
the high altitude dessert.
If you've ever seen flamingos take off you will relate to the photo
above. They wind up & to a wonderful ballet stile tip-toe across the
water.
Landing isn't quite so graceful, particularly with the much that they have to land in (below).
I have added more flamingo & other bird photos to my Flickr site (click here).
The next lake was a little more interesting & had a green tinge.
While we were admiring the view of Laguna Honda, our driver whistled and threw some food out on the ground. Within a minute this Andean Fox appeared to have it's photo taken and take a left over chicken leg. I was as excited to see this one as I was to see the fox in Alaska, but the circumstances were a little worrying. We kept hearing in Canada about the problems with habituating wild animals and that was exactly what was happening here. Unfortunate, but I got my shot. I shouldn't feed into it.
We
made two stops during the grind to our accommodation. The first stop
was at a rocky shelf. I couldn't understand why we had stopped until
this little guy appeared from a crevice. It's a Vizcacha. A bit like a
rabbit, but more like a chinchilla because of the tail.
We're made it! Phew!
A small building on the shore of Laguna Colorada was to be our shelter for the night. The desert was even colder here as we had gained even more altitude & lost some cloud. We had to keep the place locked up to stay warm.
Unfortunately, after dinner some of our group & most of the other group (who were also staying there) decided that a card game was a good idea. The cards weren't that much of an issue, but the cigarettes were a different story. Somehow they figured that because we were in Bolivia where smoking inside is still not only legal, but socially acceptable, that it would be fine for them to smoke us out of the place. We weren't even safe inside our small dorms. Not cool! It's very inconsiderate particularly with the altitude & the close quarters.
Laguna Canapa
We had ideal conditions for photographing these pink birds.
I just like the photo above because of the sparkles off the water
Landing isn't quite so graceful, particularly with the much that they have to land in (below).
I have added more flamingo & other bird photos to my Flickr site (click here).
Even our familiar gull friends were there. I also took photos of Sand Pipers, Finches & Plovers.
Below is a Red Backed Sierra Finch, above is a White Rumped Sand Piper.
We finished up lunch & headed off to the next lake (Laguna
Hedionda). Not as nice as the previous one, but we stopped for a look
anyway.
Even the crested ducks seem to like the saline waters. There must be some sort of life in these lakes.
Laguna Hedionda
Laguna Honda
The next lake was a little more interesting & had a green tinge.
While we were admiring the view of Laguna Honda, our driver whistled and threw some food out on the ground. Within a minute this Andean Fox appeared to have it's photo taken and take a left over chicken leg. I was as excited to see this one as I was to see the fox in Alaska, but the circumstances were a little worrying. We kept hearing in Canada about the problems with habituating wild animals and that was exactly what was happening here. Unfortunate, but I got my shot. I shouldn't feed into it.
The middle of nowhere.
The next couple of hours were pretty rugged. The bumps & corrugation
were severe & the 2 girls sitting on the back bench seat were
getting bashed against the roof of the 4x4 and all our spines were
copping a hiding. The dust was getting into everything.
We
made two stops during the grind to our accommodation. The first stop
was at a rocky shelf. I couldn't understand why we had stopped until
this little guy appeared from a crevice. It's a Vizcacha. A bit like a
rabbit, but more like a chinchilla because of the tail.
Once again, the tour operators left food for the animals. Not ideal, but once again, I got my shot.
The second
stop for the afternoon was this very strange wind sculpted rock. When
you look at it it's hard to work out how this strange shape evolves. As
soon as you get out of the car it becomes obvious. Aside from the wind
being ice cold that late in the day, the first thing you notice is the
feeling of being sand blasted, particularly close to the ground. So the
sand wears away at the soft sandstone & does it more at ground
level. As the sand level shifts the top of the rocks are left more or
less unharmed.
The Stone Tree.
Laguna Colorada
A small building on the shore of Laguna Colorada was to be our shelter for the night. The desert was even colder here as we had gained even more altitude & lost some cloud. We had to keep the place locked up to stay warm.
Unfortunately, after dinner some of our group & most of the other group (who were also staying there) decided that a card game was a good idea. The cards weren't that much of an issue, but the cigarettes were a different story. Somehow they figured that because we were in Bolivia where smoking inside is still not only legal, but socially acceptable, that it would be fine for them to smoke us out of the place. We weren't even safe inside our small dorms. Not cool! It's very inconsiderate particularly with the altitude & the close quarters.
