Pictures

I finally found a computer that reads my usb stick and also has a reasonable connection rate, so here are a few pics from the last of my time in Bolivia.

The red lake in the background is Laguna Colorada and Bolivia is trying to get it voted one of the new natural wonders of the world... It is pretty impressive, I have to agree. It´s the largest lake in the area, and the colour is caused by algae that bloom when the sun is out, so the lake is only red when the sun is high. At night the flamingoes congregate in the warm waters near the edge of the laguna, but during the day they avoid gawkers like me by going to the middle of the lagoon... Because of the hot water they also don´t have to migrate in winter like most of the flamingo population in the region does, which is pretty cool. The picture shows the eight people from my jeep and the other jeep from the same tour company.

The other lake is Laguna Verde, and is the toxic lake I mentioned in my last post. Beautiful though, hey? It was freezing cold though and the wind was strong...


I mentioned trick photography in the salt flats in my last post... Here´s an example :)


My border crossing experience into Argentina wasn´t too bad -- my luggage was only perfunctorily searched and I didn´t have any hassles from the officials. It was interesting that only half an hour out of the border town on the bus to Tilcara (where I am now) we had to stop again and do the customs stuff all over again. The people on the bus seemed used to it, but I was surprised. Tilcara is very pretty though and the food here is excellent. Poverty is also a lot less obvious (though not absent, to be sure) than it was in Bolivia. I went to a set of local pre-Columbian ruins today, just outside of town, which was interesting. The wind was so strong on the hillside that at times I had to lean into it to avoid losing my balance and stumbling. Weirdly the biggest building on the site is not a reconstruction of an existing building, but a pyramid-shaped monument to the three people who ´discovered´ the site. I don´t really get that, but hey.

Tomorrow I think I will head down to Salta, and then into wine country. Seems a good way to spend a few days before I head up to Yacu Yura for the eco-retreat...