Day 3: Atacama Desert

We started this morning with another vigorous hike to some hot springs that were fed by underground thermal activity.  Chile has 10% of the world’s active volcanoes (over 150) and is very active seismically, so springs and geysers (which we will visit tomorrow) are common.

From the trailhead, we descended vertically about 200’ to the canyon floor, an interesting climb down.  

The canyon had a brisk stream running through it and this was lined by huge rushes with tufted ends.  

There are apparently no insects, spiders, or other dangerous vermin here which made walking through the vegetation much more pleasant than at home, or anywhere else we may have been. 

The hike took us up to 3500 meters or 11,485 feet.  I think we are in pretty good shape, but we certainly got winded pretty quickly.  I had been taking prophylactic Diamox to ward off altitude sickness and though the side effects are rather unpleasant (constant peeing and tingling of the fingers and feet), it seemed to have been effective for me.  No headache or nausea.  As with seasickness, Jeri’s constitution required no medication.  She was fine sans drugs.

We reached the hot springs around 11:30 and took a refreshing dip (air temp was around 65 and the water around 90 degrees) 

followed by the ever present (thanks to Alto Atacama) beer, wine, juice, fruit, and snacks. Then back to the hotel just in time for lunch (more food).

Not wanting to sit around for even a moment, we took a short walk to a local attraction, El Pukara de Quitor.  

This is an ancient fortress first built by the Atacamenos around 900 A.C.E.  It overlooks the San Pedro River on the side of a steep slope of the Salt mountain Range.

It overlooks the San Pedro River on the side of a steep slope of the Salt mountain Range. This gave it strategic and defensive advantages that much later in the 15^th Century made it extremely difficult (though not impossible) for the Spanish invaders to oust the residents. The climb up was difficult even without Atacamenos hurling spears and rocks mostly due to the heat and altitude.  Got a good view of the Pukara, our hotel, and the salt basin that lies between the Andes and the Salt Mountains and the Domeyko Range.

After a short walk back to the hotel, we were ready for our next (but not last) activity for the day, a trip to the salt basin to see the endangered Andean Flamingos. Our guide was not Manfred, but Lili, Manfred’s girlfriend!  She was equally enthusiastic (or more so) and also very knowledgeable.  The drive to the salt basin afforded us great views of both the Andes and the Domeyko ranges. Lili regaled us with stories of the Atacamenos along the way. My favorite involves the volcano, Lickancabur (cabur means volcano in the Atacamanian language, Kunsa.

Lickancabur and the adjacent mountain, Juries, 

were brothers who were constantly quarreling over a girl, Kimal (a mountain in the Domeyko Range across the salt basin).  Their father, Volcan Laskar ( an Andean volcano to the south), 

was sick of their fighting and because he love Juriques more, he hurled a fireball at Lickancabur.  Unfortunately, neither his aim nor his distance were too good and he hit Juriques instead, decapitating him.  Leskar was despondent and began crying, his tears forming the salt basin, and Lickancabur and Kimal were never able to be together except for 2 minutes each year on the summer solstice when Lickancabur’s shadow touches Kimal briefly.

By the time the story was over, we were at the salt flats.  This area believe it or not, was not formed by Leskar’s tears. Water laden with minerals flows underground from the Andes toward the Pacific, but is trapped by the Domeyko Mountain Range.  This water evaporates due to the high heat and dryness leaving behind salt deposits.  Brine shrimp flourishes here and since this is the main food source for flamingoes, they flock (pardon the pun) to the salt flats.

There are three types of flamingoes found in Chile, the Chilean , the James, and the Andean.  The Andean is endangered, but this is the predominant type found here.

Flocks of sandpipers also were flying around the salt marsh.

A small, yet to be identified by me, lizard was hanging out here in the sun.

After a few gazillion flamingo photos, we began to head back to the hotel, first stopping in Tocanao, a small town at the base of the Andes.

 In the town square there is a bell tower that was built in the 1500’s with local stone, lilirita, and cardone (cactus we saw yesterday). The local church was interesting , built with the same materials.  The statues in the church crossed between Christianity and the local polytheism to help convert the local population.  They had difficulty with the concept of a god you couldn’t see, so the early missionaries created forms for the trinity. 

Another interesting fact is that the statues were only heads and hands because they had to be moved from village to village.  The body was straw covered by material. 

This church has the distinction of being visited by Pope Jean Paul II in his Chilean visit in 1989.

Last stop was hors d’oeuvres and wine with three wild donkeys to watch the sunset in front of Lickancabur and Juries.  

Another beautiful sunset.

We hit the hotel in time to decide between dinner or stargazing.  Since we were going to be going to high altitude tomorrow morning, we were told to eat light. We figured you couldn’t get lighter than nothing, so we went stargazing.  The docent, Joel, was the chief guide here at Alto Atacama and the astronomy guru.  The sky was beautiful and he pointed out several constellations and compared the indigenous peoples explanations for these as well.  We also learned how to find south using both Southern Cross and the Magellanic Clouds.  Finally, back to our room and a short nap.  Leaving tomorrow morning at 5:30 to see the geysers (or geezers as they call them here).