Atacama to Paine Day 5

After an early morning call we set off by bus in the dark to head for the El Taito Geysers. Along the way we stopped to take in the night sky which was crystal clear and full of stars, it was truely lovely.



The journey was by rough road and we shook, rocked and rolled our way for a couple of hours. As we did we gained height, another two thousand metres, so when we arrived it was cold and the air thin. The geysers stand at around 4400 metres and cover a large area.



The view that greets you is like something from another planet. There is steam rising from many holes which rises and gives the area a surreal feel. We went and stood beside serveral of the steaming vents, which provided some much needed warmth for many. The steam made for a ghostly atmosphere as it blew across the barren landscape.



We took in some light breakfast and watched the sun come up which gave some much needed warmth and which also meant that we could take in more of the landscape. We moved locations to see some of the larger water / steam outlets and also for some to take a dip in the hot thermal bath.




From there we started our trip back, by way of a small lake to view some birds. There were some lovely ducks and several pairs of giant coot.



On the way we also saw some Vicunas. These are still protected as at one point there numbers were down to only a 1000 or so. Now their numbers are rising and they are still prized for their very fine wool.



Afterwards we came across a herd of llama grazing with some donkeys. These are farmed for their fleece and for meat. There was a two week old foal amongst the herd, who was very curious at all the human attention!



We next stopped at a tiny village, Machuca, of about 15 people. It had a few small thatched houses and a lovely church, which was very old and must have served a larger community at some time.



The local villagers have tapped into the passing tourist trade and now provide freshly made llama kababs. Needless to say George and I tucked in, they were very tasty and good for you as they are low in fat!



After that we drove the remaining distance back to San Pedro de Atacama for a little R & R, before we set off again for a vist to a salt pan.

We left San Pedro around 4pm and drove for a short while to a small oasis village of Toconao. This looked on first impressions to be a dull dusty town, but in fact it proved to be very interesting.

It had an irrigation system dating back to the time of Christ. From the surrounding desert bloomed orchards growing, quince, pomegranate, grapes and figs. It was amazing to think that this was so old.

We wandered into the town square to view the small church and have an ice cream before we headed off to the salt flats see the flamigoes.

The flats are truely beautiful. They are enormous and surrounded by a string of volcanoes. There are several small, shallow lakes which support populations of Andean and Jame's flamingoes along with Andean avocet and several small migratory waders.

We walked out to the view one of the lakes and watched and waited for the sun set. There were groups of flamingoes flying in with the dramatic back drop of the volcanoes. The sunset around 8pm was dramatic, turning the surrounding hills a stunning orange.

Another great, full day capped of with some great wildlife.