Salar de Atacama and the Lagunas Altiplanicas

Day 2 was our big tour day in San Pedro de Atacama, and it started with a tour of Salar de Atacama and Las Lagunas Altiplanicas.

We got up really early in the morning and layered up like crazy: Because I had under-packed for the trip, I borrowed not only Brian's sweater but also his alpaca poncho. I looked pretty ridiculous, but hey, I was at least warm. We were picked up at the crack of dawn and were soon on the road towards the salt flats, our first stop of the day.

Salt everywhere 

I had seen pictures of the salt flats before, but I was certainly surprised by the expansiveness of it all. There was salt as far as the eye could see with the added beauty of flamingos and birds dotting the scenery. Our tour guide told us about the different species and how to tell them apart. The one you see below is a James flamingo.

A flamingo - photographed by Brian 

That's a huge chunk of salt 

We took a seat at some picnic tables by the entrance for a small albeit impressive breakfast of bread, ham, cookies, and coffee with the option for some coca tea. Yes, that coca. Haha! It was during this time that we got to know our group, which included a Brazilian girl and a Canadian couple. They were from the GTA too! It was pretty awesome. We also got to know our guide, who told us of one tour during which he got to see a nearby volcano erupt in front of his very eyes. He said he even felt the quakes. It sounded scary, but I'll admit that it sounded exhilarating too.

Socaire

After about half an hour, we were back on the road and on our way to Las Lagunas Altiplanicas. We stopped by a little known town called Socaire along the way, home to one of the oldest churches in South America.

Wow

What was interesting about this church was the paintings. Apart from its cactus wood roofing, we were informed that the locals had decorated their church using a combination of leaves, urine, and blood.

The bell tower

We also learned about the physiology of the locals' ancestors based on the architecture of the church: The door to the bell tower must have only been 4 feet tall, which gives us an indication of their former stature.

For so remote a town, we were surprised to find out that they actually receive a lot of government aid; in fact, schooling is supported until a certain age. However, there is little work for everyone there, so people often make and sell souvenirs like the gloves Brian had bought from the locals by the church.

Beautiful 

At last we were at the beautiful Lagunas Altiplanicas. We were 4,200 km above sea level, and boy, did I ever get altitude sickness!

Every step was a chore, and I could definitely feel both my lungs and my heart working on overdrive just to keep me alive! With that said, the lakes were absolutely marvelous. In fact, it was so idyllic up there that I could almost fool myself into thinking that I was at some resort... Then I would move and remember the nausea. Haha!

See? I look ridiculous!

Brian fared better than me up there and took some lovely photos, including one of a vicugna, an Andean animal that has evolved to drink the salt water of the lagoons.

With meu querido

The Andean Vicugna

I know I keep saying that the desert is picturesque, but it is so true. It was beautiful everywhere. Everywhere we looked was postcard-worthy.

We definitely enjoyed the views of the lagoons, but we regrettably had to go back to town. On our way back, we stopped by Toconao where they also had an old church and some beautiful flowers and cacti.

The bell tower

Lovely flowers

Brian and his cactus 

I didn't know this about cacti, but they apparently only grow little by little every year. So the one you see above is definitely very old!

The van dropped us off in town where we had lunch and prepared for the second half of our day. Watch for my next post where I will be talking about our horseback riding adventure in Valle de la Muerte!