salar de atacama, lagunas altiplánicas, pueblitos, y música tradicional (sabado, 23 julio)

This morning I woke up at 7:15, ate some leftover vegan pizza, and got ready for my tour with Aventura Altiplano. They picked me up at my hostel a shade before 8am, and we stopped to buy some bottled water and snacks before heading out. There were about 12 of us on the tour. We got on the highway and drove south of San Pedro. Our first stop was an oasis of tamarugal trees, which had been planted here in the desert as part of an ecological project. I met a couple from Santiago who were very nice. We then got back in the van and drove to Salar de Atacama, the third-largest salt flat in the world (after Salar de Uyuni and Salt Lake). The ground was covered in clusters of white and gray salt, which formed after the water in the salt lakes had evaporated thousands of years ago. It was interesting learning how sometimes the salt forms in different shapes, and how the forces of the earth affected that. We went to Laguna Chaxa, where there are three kinds of flamingoes that live there. When they fly, they look black if you are watching from the ground because the insides of their wings have either black or dark blue feathers. The guide also explained that their colors (varying from pink to orange) are because of the shrimp and other organisms they eat. We walked around Salar de Atacama for a while before getting back in the van.

Next we stopped briefly in Socaire, where we saw a church and some potato terraces. Here they grow a type of potato that is purple inside. This is the only place where it grows, but unfortunately I didn´t get a chance to try it. In Socaire, the church was made of adobe and had a roof of twigs/sticks because the adobe walls cannot support a heavier roof. Also, this church was unique because its bell tower was a separate building from the church. The reason for this was that back in the days when the church was built, the traditional belief was that the church represented the virgin Mary, and that a bell tower was a phallic symbol and therefore, the two should not be part of the same building.

We then went to two lakes in the altiplano, Laguna Miscanti and Meñiques. The water there was so blue and beautiful. We walked along a path by Laguna Miscanti. I enjoyed the scenery even though it was a bit chilly because of the altitude. After that we went back to Socaire for a traditional lunch of vegetable soup (which hit the spot!), rice, quinoa, and tomatoes. After lunch we went to the town of Toconao, which is the only town in the surrounding area with a clean water source. I saw the inside of the church which had a staircase and doors made out of cactus wood. There was also a beautiful cactus garden outside of the church.

When I got back to San Pedro I ate an early dinner at an organic, natural place called Tierra, where I enjoyed champiniones al pil-pil, a vegetable empanada, and fresh juice. I arranged my tour for the following day to the El Tatio geysers, and went back to the hostel. When I got back, there was a group of people there from all parts of the world (Chile, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Germany...) who invited me out for a few drinks and live music. First we went to a place called Café Export, where we ordered the ´specialty´drink of San Pedro, which was called San Pedro en Llamas (pisco, orange juice, and grenadine). After there we went to Adobe, where we ordered wine and listened to a traditional Andean band. A few people were dancing, which was entertaining, especially since one of them was wearing a green mask. I met a guy from Antofagasta, and he was really interesting to talk to. The rest of the group wanted to go out for more drinks, but since I had to get up early to go to El Tatio, I went back to the hostel to get a good night´s sleep.

written by

Sara Florecita on October 23, 2010 from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

from the travel blog: año de dos inviernos (Chile 2010)

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