1 October
At 7am we are on the road to Laguna Cejar and Laguna Tebenquiche located in the Salar de Atacama. The Salar de Atacama, at an elevation of 7,500 feet, is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is surrounded by mountains and has no drainage outlets. To the east it is bounded by the main chain of the Andes while to the west lies a secondary mountain range of the Andes called Cordillera de Domeyko. Large volcanoes dominate the landscape including the Láscar volcano. Láscar is one of the most active volcanoes in Chile. You regularly see small puffs of steam at its apex.
Some areas of the salt flat form part of Los Flamencos National Reserve and that’s why we’re here! We are hoping to photograph the Chilean and Andes flamingos. We first go to the Laguna Cejar, a sink hole lake in the Salar de Atacama. It has a salt concentrations that range from 5 to 28% and, like the Dead Sea, you float without sinking! It is a popular swimming hole. Rex brought his swim trunks (we did not bring swim gear) and is fully expecting to plunge in. But it is really cold and, to me, the lake does NOT look inviting. It’s really sloppy muddy. So instead we search for flamingos to make our time productive there.
We see several flamingos but they see us and they make sure there is a good distance between us and them. We also see other shore birds: plovers, avocets and Andean gulls. There is a juvenile flamingo that has not yet gained the beautiful pink plumage. He is not shy with us but he’s not very pretty!
We move on to nearby Laguna Tebenquiche. It is larger and a much more scenic lake with neat salt formations in the water. The mountains are nicely reflected in the lake. The photography gods are not favorable to us here either. Cris promises that we will see lots of beautiful flamingos later in the week.
On our drive out of the salt flat a small red fox (called a Culpeo) crosses the road in front of us. Cris slams on the breaks and comes to a halt. That little devil sits down on the side of the road quite near us and just stares at us. He is acting just like a domesticated animal! Cris says he’s undoubtedly been fed by visitors. He poses quite nicely but gets frustrated and leaves since no goodies are forthcoming.
We have lunch in town at La Estaka. Rex is fully recovered from his “bug” so he joins us in a Pisco Sour. We all order the daily menu: corn soup; succulent pork ribs; roughly mashed potatoes with corn, peppers and other veggies added in; and Creme Catalan (Creme Brûlée). We are annoyed that our drinks do not arrive until after our first course. The bartender is eating lunch! Not a good excuse as far as I am concerned. But we enjoy our lunch, and the Pisco Sours, very much.
We relax in our room for a couple of hours; we are going to have a busy late afternoon into the evening.
For sunset pictures we visit the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). The valley is considered one of the driest places on earth, as some areas have not received a single drop of rain in hundreds of years. And, boy, is it dry! The humidity is zero. It looks like there is snow on the ground. Surprise! It’s salt!
The Valle de la Luna is located in another salt flat, the Cordillera de la Sal. It has incredible stone and sand formations which have been carved by wind and water. The formations along with the bleak landscape give the valley its name. The deep canyon rock face is incredible. There are formations that look like brains; formations that look dripped; and HUGE salt crystals. If you are quiet you can hear the salt crack. There used to be several salt mines here. The salt was cut into thick large sheets and it was not just used for the seasoning of food but to make buildings and fences. There is an old corral made from salt still standing.
We drive on and see huge sand dunes, picturesque formations and lots of salt. In fact one stretch of road looks it is covered with snow and ice–but it’s salt! Rex hikes one of the sand dunes for sunset pictures while we walk the road and photograph the rocks.
Our day is not over yet. We have a night sky tour. Chile has very little light pollution and is considered an incredible place to see all the night sky has to offer. We take a bus outside of town for an orientation to the planets and stars. The astronomer leading the discussion is quite funny and uses a laser pointer, which is quite effective, to help with the discussion. Then there are 9 telescopes available for viewing selected astronomical items.
It has been a long day and my knee and legs are killing me. We must stand through the interesting but LONG discussion. It is also really cold. There is hot chocolate in the building so Howard and I choose warmth and hot chocolate over in depth night sky viewing. Rex stays outside and takes night sky photos that are incredible. The guys will set aside another night for photography.
We get to bed at midnight and Cris will pick us up at 9am tomorrow. We must get to dreamland fast!