Monday, Sept. 29, 2003 - 2:28 a.m.
Flamingos & Bad Latino Music
We did a lot of driving this day, this part of Bolivia is very flat, wide and empty other than incredible views of salars, sand and mountains in the distance. We drove somewhat parallel to the Chilean border and saw the Volcano Ollague to our right, the only active volcano in Bolivia. As we got closer across the barren landscape we could see a little smoke emitting from one side. The earth was a more rich brownish red. We stopped at one point and took some photos. The land was dry and the air was even dryer. Everyone was constantly putting on chapstick.
Behind the volcano were the mountains of Chile. We kept driving for ages until eventually arriving at a laguna that had lots of little pinkish white specs that turned out to be flamingos. This flamingo-filled laguna also smelled strongly of sulfer. It was a beautiful landscape, blue lake, brown earth, and volcanic mountains behind it with a light sprinkling of snow.
Again we continued to drive along, perhaps for an hour or so. Eventually we got to an even odder landscape: Vallas de Rocas. The Valley of the Rocks, also called the Salvador Dali Rocks, here plopped down in the middle of this desert were these large rocks where the wind had slowly, by erosion, carved away parts of the stones and given them a strange loopy appearance. Many of the rocks were large, truck-size. One looked like an apple where the bottom had been chewed away except its core. The strange loopy droopy appearance had earned it the name of the Dali rocks, after the ecletic painter.
We continued on until we got to another lake, Laguna Canapa where we saw another brilliantly blue lake hosting many pinkish white flamingos. On closer inspection, I saw that they had red patches on each side and when they spread their wings I noticed they were fringed with black, as if they had been dipped in a little bit of ink, like a naughty schoolboy dipped a little girl's pigtails in the inkwell. We walked around a little bit while Andres made lunch.
I forgot to mention that during out tour, while riding in the jeep, Andres had been playing music on his tape deck. The day before had been a marathon of about a dozen songs by the Scorpions, Pink Floyd & other various groups. This day had been abominable, the absolute worst Latin music I'd ever heard, but mainly because it was like the same 30 minute song endlessly repeating itself. It was a live concert of some cheesy Latino singer with screaming 15 year old girls. We were crammed inside this jeep subjected this music playing over and over again. There was no escape.
Eventually we reached a checkpoint and this turned out to be the national park enterance and had to pay the enterance fee (30 Bolivianos, about $4). Next to the checkpoint was the Laguna Colorado, the Red Lake. This too was donned with a colony of flamingos. There was a building next to the park enterence that was where we spent the night. When we exited the jeep for the last time that day we saw that our jeep had a flat tire.
We took our bags inside and learned that we were all sharing one large dorm room full of bunkbeds. There was just enough beds that no one had to sleep on any of the top bunks.
James said he was going to check out the lake and Talbot went with him. I followed them after I checked out the banos (bathrooms), which I discovered had a terrible smell. The toilets didn't flush. You had to take a small jug floating in one of two large barrels filled with water and self-flush, which didn't work very well.
Outside it was incredibly windy. The other groups had arrived at this time and a bunch of people were wallking around the lake too. I'd asked Andres why the lake is red, but couldn't understand his reply. I was frustrated because anytime I tried to talk to Andres he never seemed to hear me and then I could never understand his reply.
I walked to the lake, the dry, grey soil covered in pale, brown shrubbery. I caught up with James & Talbot and then we took some photos. After a few minutes James & Talbot headed back, but I stayed for a little bit longer and continued to walk along the shore a little bit.
That evening after dinner some of us played cards before the generator was turned off at 10PM, when all the lights and electricity were shut off. That was when I discovered that my flashlight had died and it wasn't the batteries...
