Sunday, 8 January 2012

San Pedro de Atacama & the High Desert


Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd January


Back inland today & the Atacama desert, this is supposed to be one of the driest places on earth!!, first the road takes us along the coast before we turn East, Chile still has some communities scratching out a living along the road.


An emergency stop is required, where did the house go?

 
The road to San Pedro is long & straight with the volcanoes of the Andes in the background. 
 
 
Roger, Dave & myself visit Chaxa lagoon which is part of a vast salt plain & the 'Reserva Nacional Los Flamancos’  complete with Flamenco Andino.

 
The salt here unlike other flats is not smooth but gives a lunar like landscape, desert landscapes are not boring.

 
We also visit the Miscanti & Mniques lagoons at a height of 4200m, breath-taking scenery, clean air & absolute silence, it does not get much better than this.


On our return to San Pedro the sky gets very dark, did I say this was one of the driest places on Earth? The rain get so heavy we have to abandon our restaurant as mud pours in through the reed roof.

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