Los Flamencos

We woke up at 5:30 this morning and drove with our tour to the Flamenco National Reserve, which hosts three types of flamingos that thrive in the salt flat called the Chaxa Lagoon. The salt flat is exactly how it sounds - flat land covered in salt crystals, with various shallow ponds where algae, teeeensy shrimp and other micro-organisms live and support the birds and other wildlife.

The Chaxa Lagoon lies between the Andes and the Domeyko Mountain Ranges and used to be a sea before the mountains pushed their way up and the water formed underground lakes, leaving the salt behind. What is left looks like a giant white coral reef which stretches for miles.

We arrived before dawn, shivering a bit as we walked through the clear morning, and watched the flamingos feed and fly as the sun rose from behind the mountains and finally shone full-force on the sparkling water, lighting up the mountains in purple and pink hues, the colors slowly seeping downward towards us.

The other magnificent occurence of the day was the hike to more than 14,000 ft to see the two Altiplano Lagos, which rival the Texas sky for their intense color. The lakes were pristine, with salt rings around the edges, and birds flocked on the shores. We were looking down on both lakes at the same time, and also were able to look out on the valley and the salt flats from above... truly spectacular.

pictures to follow when i return to santiago...