After a delicious breakfast in the hotel, we walked the very short distance into the centre of San Pedro. It has low buildings, many made with adobe, little tourist shops and restaurants. We stopped for cool drinks in a wee café.
Rodrigo was our guide for our afternoon tour.
The drive was dominated by Licancabur, the perfect 6000 metre cone shaped volcano on the border of Chile & Bolivia and there are several other volcanoes visible nearby.
We drove along past the salt flats, which have lots of minerals and chemicals such as lithium. We arrived at Toconao, a traditional, 12,000-year-old oasis village, fed by the small Toconao River which flows down from the Andes. It is known as the "place of stones," because the houses are built from volcanic liparite stone. The San Lucas bell tower in the village square has a door made out of cactus wood! Our guide introduced us to one of the local farmers who gave us a tour round the carefully irrigated orchards and small gardens which were filled with lush fruit; pomegranates, quinces, avocados, grapes, figs, apricots and much more. We were given a big bunch of grapes straight off the vine and they tasted so sweet. We bought delicious Aryamp ice cream from a tiny shop.
We continued on the road across the salt flats and Rodrigo said that the road is actually made of salt which has been compressed and hardened. The Atacama Salt Flat is located in a depression formed by the rising of the Andes and Domeyko mountain ranges. The central block sank and was then covered by a layer of volcanic material, and over the years, salts and minerals were washed down from the hills by water flowing from the Andes. You can see these salts crystallized on the surface of the desert.
We arrived at Laguna Chaxa where flamingos were standing in the shallow lake eating microscopic algae, brine shrimp, and small crustaceans filtered from the salty water. It is amazing that such a seemingly inhospitable area can support life. We also saw two wee lizards circling each other and fighting. Rodrigo drove back to the outskirts of San Pedro where he laid out drinks and snacks as we watched the mountains light up and change colour as the sun set. Later we strolled into the village for a late dinner.
Rodrigo was our guide for our afternoon tour.
The drive was dominated by Licancabur, the perfect 6000 metre cone shaped volcano on the border of Chile & Bolivia and there are several other volcanoes visible nearby.
We drove along past the salt flats, which have lots of minerals and chemicals such as lithium. We arrived at Toconao, a traditional, 12,000-year-old oasis village, fed by the small Toconao River which flows down from the Andes. It is known as the "place of stones," because the houses are built from volcanic liparite stone. The San Lucas bell tower in the village square has a door made out of cactus wood! Our guide introduced us to one of the local farmers who gave us a tour round the carefully irrigated orchards and small gardens which were filled with lush fruit; pomegranates, quinces, avocados, grapes, figs, apricots and much more. We were given a big bunch of grapes straight off the vine and they tasted so sweet. We bought delicious Aryamp ice cream from a tiny shop.
We continued on the road across the salt flats and Rodrigo said that the road is actually made of salt which has been compressed and hardened. The Atacama Salt Flat is located in a depression formed by the rising of the Andes and Domeyko mountain ranges. The central block sank and was then covered by a layer of volcanic material, and over the years, salts and minerals were washed down from the hills by water flowing from the Andes. You can see these salts crystallized on the surface of the desert.
We arrived at Laguna Chaxa where flamingos were standing in the shallow lake eating microscopic algae, brine shrimp, and small crustaceans filtered from the salty water. It is amazing that such a seemingly inhospitable area can support life. We also saw two wee lizards circling each other and fighting. Rodrigo drove back to the outskirts of San Pedro where he laid out drinks and snacks as we watched the mountains light up and change colour as the sun set. Later we strolled into the village for a late dinner.
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