After a good nights sleep, we woke up refreshed and ready to go. We headed to one of the highlights of the trip, and something we missed out on the day before because of the delays. Nestled at the base of a semi-circle of red mountains was the 'Laguna Colorada' translated as the colourful lagoon. It was clear why this was the case, a beautiful array of colours glistening in the giant pool of water, tranquil as ever and only interrupted by the elegant flight of bright pink flamingos. Some genius had built the only building there, a quaint little stone house with a panoramic view in their front room, sitting on a small cliff edge. Truly amazing and one of the most spectacular sights we've ever seen.
We headed on to place called 'Arbol de Pedra', yes you got it, something to do with rocks.... An array of massive rugged boulders in the middle of no-where, rugged and deformed by natures forces, and tourists climbing them. Sharp edges, overhangs and perilously balanced rock pieces the size of cars all arranged in bizarre formations. One indeed did look like a tree, with a trunk and tons of rock balanced on top to look like branches. We messed about on the rocks, I got a few scratches and we had a great time.
Before our next stop we passed through massive valleys as barren as deserts, with only short bushes maybe 30cm high littering the landcscape, producing unusual beauty. So vast the area that tour cars simply take any route they wish, rarely crossing another's path. On either side of us we where being constantly watched by giant mountains, bizarrely generally absent of snow despite the altitude. We were told, and it is painfully obvious, that in the dry season there is almost no precipitation, and we certainly noticed the dry dusty air.
We passed another 5 lagoons filled with flamingos and these with mountain backdrops cannot be beaten for shear beauty. Rugged and untouched, again very different to NZ's elegance.
We then passed a couple of active volcanoes, one venting anger, but thankfully nothing more than that... No doubt it will erupt in a weeks time like Mt. Tongario did in NZ just after ae left it. We then entered a large dry salt lake, called 'Salar de Chiguana', famous for its train track that runs right through it used only for mineral transportation from the salt plain. This provided some good photo opportunities and was something quite special in amongst the vast white sea of salt.
Our stop for the night was a tiny village hosting a hostel made entirely of salt. The walls of large salt bricks, the floor of crushed salt which felt and looked like snow. It was quite a unique place. Thankfully the toilet was old fashioned ceramic! We had our first hot shower of the trip, and having descended to 3700m we felt more energetic. Indeed so did the guy with altitude sickness (who was now fine) and so the wine, tequila and whiskey made it's way to our table. We both had a good laugh with a couple of Kiwi guys, and at 1am headed to bed being the only ones left in the dinning room...we were a little worse for wear! Wake up time 0530! 