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| Solar de Uyuni, Bolivia - Day 2 |
Showing posts with label desert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desert. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Solar de Uyuni, Bolivia - Day 2
Today was more desert and lagoons as we continued our way towards Uyuni, Bolivia. I got to climb up some rock formations, watch a flat tire being changed, and play soccer with some local kids when we arrived at the hostel.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Solar de Uyuni, Bolivia - Day 1
So today was the start of one of the best tours that I took in South America. A 3 day tour of Bolivia’s salt flats and beautiful lagoons in a 4x4 truck, with food and lodging was only $100 dollars. Granted the accommodations were a bit rough, with no heat and the first place did not have shower facilities, but we had people on the tour ranging in age from 25 to late 60s and everybody survived and enjoyed themselves.
On the tour that day, we visited the desert that inspired Vincent Van Gogh’s art work, volcanic geysers overflowing with mud and steam, and saw a tornado approaching us through the desert. We also explored a couple lagoons which were so vividly brilliant that they appeared to be painted vibrant hues of blue, green, white, and red. Complimenting the beautiful water colors were towering mountain scenes and masses of magnificent flamingoes. I’ve never seen so many animals of one species in one place at one time. Couple that with the amazing scenery and you are driven into visual sensory overload. Of course a picture can only get a fraction of what the eye can see so while the pictures that I have on this tour are stunning, the in person experience was exponentially better.
Trying to move around for your first couple days at high altitudes, 3000 meters is where you first start of feel some of the altitude symptoms, is like trying to run a marathon while carrying a horse who is kicking you in the head. You take five steps and have to stop, completely winded, hunched over trying to catch your breath, while a headache constantly pounds your skull. Sleeping at that altitude is a totally different matter. We had to sleep at 4200 meters on the first day and with no previous altitude exposure it was really difficult. The best way that I can describe it is to use a simile - sleeping at 4200 meters is like trying to breathe through a straw while a baby elephant performs back flips on your chest.
On the tour that day, we visited the desert that inspired Vincent Van Gogh’s art work, volcanic geysers overflowing with mud and steam, and saw a tornado approaching us through the desert. We also explored a couple lagoons which were so vividly brilliant that they appeared to be painted vibrant hues of blue, green, white, and red. Complimenting the beautiful water colors were towering mountain scenes and masses of magnificent flamingoes. I’ve never seen so many animals of one species in one place at one time. Couple that with the amazing scenery and you are driven into visual sensory overload. Of course a picture can only get a fraction of what the eye can see so while the pictures that I have on this tour are stunning, the in person experience was exponentially better.
Trying to move around for your first couple days at high altitudes, 3000 meters is where you first start of feel some of the altitude symptoms, is like trying to run a marathon while carrying a horse who is kicking you in the head. You take five steps and have to stop, completely winded, hunched over trying to catch your breath, while a headache constantly pounds your skull. Sleeping at that altitude is a totally different matter. We had to sleep at 4200 meters on the first day and with no previous altitude exposure it was really difficult. The best way that I can describe it is to use a simile - sleeping at 4200 meters is like trying to breathe through a straw while a baby elephant performs back flips on your chest.
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| Solar de Uyuni, Bolivia - Day 1 |
Thursday, February 26, 2009
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile - Day 2
So today I had a very packed day of tours starting at 4am until 2pm for an early morning geysers tour and then another tour of the Death Valley, Moon Valley, and some desert sites from 4pm to 9pm.
El Tatio Geyser Field is located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above sea level. With over 80 active geysers, El Tatio is the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest field in the world, after Yellowstone, and Dolina Giezerov in Russia. And at 4,200 meters, the El Tatio field is purported that they are the highest elevation geyser field in the world.
The best time to see them is at sunrise when each geyser is surmounted by a column of steam that condenses in the bitterly cold morning air. The steam plumes disappear as the air warms up. The tourist agency told me it was going to be cold, but it was hot in San Pedro, so I wore a T shirt and thin hiking pants and a light jacket and I figured that would be sufficient. WOW was I freezing. When the sun was down, the weather hit -11 degrees Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit) and I was doing jumping jacks to stay warm. I would take a picture and then warm my fingers up and try and repeat. What I didn’t understand was how people were swimming in the hot springs. As soon as you get out of the water, you must be freezing. Once the sun came up, it warmed up a bit but it was still rather chilly.
The second tour of the day included Death Valley, a huge desert canyon; Moon Valley, a desert space that had rolling valleys and hills which resemble the moon’s surface; and a desert peak climb to watch the sun set. A very very packed and satisfying day.
El Tatio Geyser Field is located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,200 meters above sea level. With over 80 active geysers, El Tatio is the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere and the third largest field in the world, after Yellowstone, and Dolina Giezerov in Russia. And at 4,200 meters, the El Tatio field is purported that they are the highest elevation geyser field in the world.
The best time to see them is at sunrise when each geyser is surmounted by a column of steam that condenses in the bitterly cold morning air. The steam plumes disappear as the air warms up. The tourist agency told me it was going to be cold, but it was hot in San Pedro, so I wore a T shirt and thin hiking pants and a light jacket and I figured that would be sufficient. WOW was I freezing. When the sun was down, the weather hit -11 degrees Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit) and I was doing jumping jacks to stay warm. I would take a picture and then warm my fingers up and try and repeat. What I didn’t understand was how people were swimming in the hot springs. As soon as you get out of the water, you must be freezing. Once the sun came up, it warmed up a bit but it was still rather chilly.
The second tour of the day included Death Valley, a huge desert canyon; Moon Valley, a desert space that had rolling valleys and hills which resemble the moon’s surface; and a desert peak climb to watch the sun set. A very very packed and satisfying day.
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| San Pedro de Atacama, Chile - Day 2 |
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