 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Supposedly the "ojos", where the salt crust cracks open to reveal the water underneath is a weaker area and tourists are warned not to get too close. However, with the car parked nearby, it was hard to believe the area was unsafe. The depth of the water in the holes was amazing, as was the mysterious bubbling.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Our sweet cook, Mercedes.
Olympus Stylus Epic | Kodak 400CN
Even though the salt around the Isla del Pescado had seemed perfectly white, I found I could look at it without straining my eyes. The point where the cracks in the salt began was also the point when the flats became too bright too look at without sunglasses.
I love the cracks. They almost-but-not-quite form even shapes.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
I find this photo really striking because it looks like the cacti are flipping the bird. Oh, and there's salt all over the ground.
Final day. We arrived at the Isla del Pescado just after sunrise, and after Mercedes bought our entrance tickets (why in the world are there entrance tickets?!) we started the ascent. It's no mountain and the altitude of 3600 meters was much better than the last two days, but it was still a slow climb for me. Coated in cacti, the small island provided a wonderful vantage point for gazing at the beautiful, harsh salt plains./div>
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Flamencolandia. This was our lunch spot on the 3rd day, plenty of time to follow the flamingos around. Wish I'd brought a telephoto lens for better flamingo shots, but my desire for closeup animal shots conflicts with my desire for sweeping landscape shots.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
We passed through a series of lesser colored lakes. Our cook Mercedes said that "honda" meant shallow but I cannot find proof of this, especially with "hondo" apparently meaning deep.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
It's strange why this rock is singled out as being special...it doesn't REALLY look that much like a tree, and the surrounding desert is filled with dramatic wind-carved rock shapes. But, it's a classic photo.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
On the other side of the hill was what seemed to be a continuation of Laguna Colorada, but it looked like a separate body of water. With the sun at our backs the water was more opaque, but still orangey brown rather than the brilliant red from the promotional pictures.
This was the first time we started really seeing flamingos in earnest...while they were visible at Laguna Verde it was a fairly small flock. Here we were entertained for a solid 30 minutes watching the flamingos walk through the colored water.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
From the afternoon of the second day on, the trip is nothing but highlight after highlight, a tour of photo ops. Laguna Colorada was the main highlight of the third day. The lake was not nearly as red as the famous postcards and posters—I imagine that's a late afternoon thing. But we could still see no hint of ordinary clear water or a simple reflection of blue sky...enough redness to remind us we were still on Mars.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
We were in the slow car with the slow driver. But when we didn't go into the hotsprings, we were able to race ahead and enjoy the beautiful green lake by ourselves. There were pink flamingos in a lighter green pool next to the main lake that haughtily moved away as I approached, and a bracing constant wind. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't get my pretty lake reflection photo as apparently the strong wind comes on every afternoon, but the color of the lake was amazing.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Oh, the vicuñas. Every glimpse of the graceful creatures delighted me. The best was the first time, as it was closest they ever came to our car...we all squealed like children when one leapt lighter than air.
This herd was near the famed Aguas Caliente. The other group all stripped down and jumped in the thermal bath, while our group looked on in disdain. It was WAY too cold! Even if the water was boiling hot (and it wasn't!) the idea of getting wet, then getting out into the cold to change back into our 5 layers of warm clothing was unappealing. We chose to pass, then happened upon the herd of vicuñas instead. Much more worthwhile.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Am I the only person that forgot baking soda occurs naturally and not only in the Arm & Hammer boxes? It took a while to figure out what "kollpa" was...they described various household items that incorporated it but it wasn't until Angel said "bicarbonato di sodio" that it hit us. Behind me were bags of the stuff to take away for processing.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
Lunch on the second day was in a spongy wonderland. My Spanish wasn't good enough to ask what made the ground so weird. Between the bouncy bumps was marshy wetness. It was truly strange and despite the altitude, I had a lot of fun jumping from bump to bump.
Olympus OM-10 | Fuji Reala 100
