typical Altiplano scenery

one of the hundreds of pink, smelly flamingos

geysers and hot pools

After breakfast on the second day we journey out into the Altiplano which proves a much rougher ride in our 4x4s than the salt flats. There are no paved roads, only dirt tracks and some of the routes we take off road are evidently too much for our vehicle as we stall going up a deep sand hill and unfortunately the engine gives up. Our driver and his two driving buddies spend a good half hour investigating under the bonnet and, it turns out, one of the belts has gone. It’s lucky our drivers are trained mechanics because the umpteen times our truck fails, they always seem to be able to get it running again.

I have a day of firsts- my first view of an active volcano, spewing clouds of steam, and my first encounter with hundreds of pink flamingos on the Laguna Colorado.

They are elegant creatures gently stalking their way through the shallow waters, bending their long necks to feed. However they are smelly and the spongy ground around the edge of the lake seems to be made of a mixture of soft earth, sulphur and bird poo.

We visit a couple of other mineral rich lagunas before reaching our next accommodation, which, again is very basic. Now we are pretty desperate for a shower because the sandy plains we’re driving through throw up a lot of dust which gets through even the pollen filters in the car’s air vents, and we end up coated in the stuff.

The accommodation block is located on the banks of the Laguna Rojo (Red Lake) which gets its colour in fact from the red algae growing in it, not from any minerals present. We take a windy walk round the edge to a viewpoint, uncertain whether the white rocky formations on one side are, in fact, the remnants of a glacier. They certainly look like ice and its extremely cold- overnight temperatures can reach as low as -20 degrees Celsius.

The following day we continue on our epic road trip through the endless empty plains of the Altiplano, rising at an unsociable 4.30am, in order to make it to the Geysers of Tatio for sunrise.

As we get there the sun’s rays are slowly penetrating the volcanic hillsides but the temperature remains below freezing and I can’t remember the last time I was this cold. The geysers and bubbling sulphurous pools are very active at this time of day and the plumes of gas emitting from them catch the morning light giving the place a ghostly feel. We are free to wander between pools on narrow ledges and its only after we leave the area I find out the water can reach 85 degrees Celsius and it’s quite dangerous.

We stop at a hut for breakfast by the side of a lake with a hot springs pool in it, before heading to the Bolivian/ Chile border control and on to our next destination, San Pedro de Atacama (hot showers await!)