Unyani, Day 2
At 7 in the morning we get back out in the truck and head out into salt flats. Soon we have left the salt behind and we are in a standard desert.
The terrain looks like the pictures from Mars. The land is flat with large rocks every few inches. The placement of the rocks looks almost regular, like the were laid out on a grid. Huge mountains and volcanoes are on every side. Almost all the nearby peaks exceed 6000m.
During the day we come to several large lakes. The first lake is incredible blue and filled with bright pink flamingos. The lake is lined with beaches made of the white crystalline chemical called borax. In the US borax was used a laundry detergent. The borax makes the lake suitable for a large number of plankton. This abundance of food attracts the large flocks of Flamingos.
We pause here to eat lunch. As we are eating, several desert foxes come out of the grass to forage our scraps. I find the foxes fascinating. The English members of the group are completely nonplussed. Apparently foxes are quite common in London and you can feed them like a squirrel or a pigeon.
After lunch we head into the desert again. We encounter large rock formations and more lakes. Some of the lakes are green and blue and lined with beaches of sulfur, borax and salt.
At the end of the day we enter Euduardo Avardo State park. In this park we see the most amazing lake, Lago Colorado. This lake´s chemical make-up and temperature promotes the growth of red algae. The lake is impossibly red; a very deep rust colored red. The lake is also fed by volcanic springs. Large clouds of steam encircle the water. Many Flamingos are here as well.
Unfortunately the wind has become so cold and violent that we can only stay about five minutes.
We head to a small group of buildings close to the lake. The accommodations are very simple and we all sleep in one big room. The temps dip to zero again that night. The sleeping bag I rented looks like it was meant for children´s spend the night parties. All the bag is missing is a picture of a smurf printed on it. That and the fact that I´m sleeping under a window, that does not shut properly, make for very uncomfortable evening.
At 7 in the morning we get back out in the truck and head out into salt flats. Soon we have left the salt behind and we are in a standard desert.
The terrain looks like the pictures from Mars. The land is flat with large rocks every few inches. The placement of the rocks looks almost regular, like the were laid out on a grid. Huge mountains and volcanoes are on every side. Almost all the nearby peaks exceed 6000m.
During the day we come to several large lakes. The first lake is incredible blue and filled with bright pink flamingos. The lake is lined with beaches made of the white crystalline chemical called borax. In the US borax was used a laundry detergent. The borax makes the lake suitable for a large number of plankton. This abundance of food attracts the large flocks of Flamingos.
We pause here to eat lunch. As we are eating, several desert foxes come out of the grass to forage our scraps. I find the foxes fascinating. The English members of the group are completely nonplussed. Apparently foxes are quite common in London and you can feed them like a squirrel or a pigeon.
After lunch we head into the desert again. We encounter large rock formations and more lakes. Some of the lakes are green and blue and lined with beaches of sulfur, borax and salt.
At the end of the day we enter Euduardo Avardo State park. In this park we see the most amazing lake, Lago Colorado. This lake´s chemical make-up and temperature promotes the growth of red algae. The lake is impossibly red; a very deep rust colored red. The lake is also fed by volcanic springs. Large clouds of steam encircle the water. Many Flamingos are here as well.
Unfortunately the wind has become so cold and violent that we can only stay about five minutes.
We head to a small group of buildings close to the lake. The accommodations are very simple and we all sleep in one big room. The temps dip to zero again that night. The sleeping bag I rented looks like it was meant for children´s spend the night parties. All the bag is missing is a picture of a smurf printed on it. That and the fact that I´m sleeping under a window, that does not shut properly, make for very uncomfortable evening.
posted by Terrell at 12:28 PM
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