Saturday, 20 September 2014
Today I did another tour, to the Salar del Tara. Pick up was at 7 am. After about 1 1/2 hours drive on the bus, we reached a place called Laguna Diamente which means Diamond Lagoon. Because it was the end of winter and beginning of spring in Chile, the surface of the lake was frozen, but there were some ducks and birds walking around on the surface of the lake. It was minus 2 or 3 degrees Celcius, but because the sun was up it didn't feel as cold as yesterday at the geysers. We were at approximately 4,900 m above sea level, which is higher than our Mount Kinabalu. How cool is that! Another thing that was quite cool to see was how the waves at the edge of the lake froze in place. If only I had my camera with me, I would've taken a thousand photos but with my camera I had to limit the number of photos I took because I am worried about the battery life as well as the space in my phone. And yes, I am lamenting but it's my bloody blog and I'll do as I please thank you very much.
After this we went to another place where there were weird rock formations, the most peculiar is a singular piece of rock standing at between 20 to 25 metres high, and is known as the Pakana or the Guardian of the Pakana. According to the guide, about 300 to 400 million years ago, this entire place was underwater. Due to the site which sits on tectonic plates, as well as volcanic activity, this place was formed, with rock formations as high as 25 metres. The evidence of volcanic activity can be seen upon closer inspection of the rocks, one can see bubble like indentations on the rocks, which were apparently bubbles from the magma all those years ago. The panorama here was just beautiful, there was also snow here for me to play in.
Then we went to another site also with rock formations known as the Cathedral. This place also contains rock formations, and they continue to be shaped by soil and wind erosion. These formations were also a result of volcanic activity.
From here we went to the Tara salt lake, home to the James flamingoes which grow to about 90 cm high. The entire Salar del Tara is a reservation area, under the Los Flamencos National Reservation. We walked along the salt lake to where our guide was waiting for us with lunch, which was rice, salad and tuna. Along the way I noticed small holes in the ground, and the guide informed us that there is a small mouse like creature known as the 'chulola' (not sure of spelling) that burrows through the sand and lives underground. I never saw one, though. After this we headed back to San Pedro and I reached the hostel at approximately 5 pm, I had a shower and went to bed early.
Today I did another tour, to the Salar del Tara. Pick up was at 7 am. After about 1 1/2 hours drive on the bus, we reached a place called Laguna Diamente which means Diamond Lagoon. Because it was the end of winter and beginning of spring in Chile, the surface of the lake was frozen, but there were some ducks and birds walking around on the surface of the lake. It was minus 2 or 3 degrees Celcius, but because the sun was up it didn't feel as cold as yesterday at the geysers. We were at approximately 4,900 m above sea level, which is higher than our Mount Kinabalu. How cool is that! Another thing that was quite cool to see was how the waves at the edge of the lake froze in place. If only I had my camera with me, I would've taken a thousand photos but with my camera I had to limit the number of photos I took because I am worried about the battery life as well as the space in my phone. And yes, I am lamenting but it's my bloody blog and I'll do as I please thank you very much.
After this we went to another place where there were weird rock formations, the most peculiar is a singular piece of rock standing at between 20 to 25 metres high, and is known as the Pakana or the Guardian of the Pakana. According to the guide, about 300 to 400 million years ago, this entire place was underwater. Due to the site which sits on tectonic plates, as well as volcanic activity, this place was formed, with rock formations as high as 25 metres. The evidence of volcanic activity can be seen upon closer inspection of the rocks, one can see bubble like indentations on the rocks, which were apparently bubbles from the magma all those years ago. The panorama here was just beautiful, there was also snow here for me to play in.
Then we went to another site also with rock formations known as the Cathedral. This place also contains rock formations, and they continue to be shaped by soil and wind erosion. These formations were also a result of volcanic activity.
From here we went to the Tara salt lake, home to the James flamingoes which grow to about 90 cm high. The entire Salar del Tara is a reservation area, under the Los Flamencos National Reservation. We walked along the salt lake to where our guide was waiting for us with lunch, which was rice, salad and tuna. Along the way I noticed small holes in the ground, and the guide informed us that there is a small mouse like creature known as the 'chulola' (not sure of spelling) that burrows through the sand and lives underground. I never saw one, though. After this we headed back to San Pedro and I reached the hostel at approximately 5 pm, I had a shower and went to bed early.
No comments:
Post a Comment