We slept soundly in our salt hotel after the previous night’s wine (by the way, what do you do if you spill red wine on a salt table?). But I woke early, well before the 7am call, and there was a clearer view of San Juan from the window – yesterday’s dust storm had passed.
Breakfast consisted of slightly stale rolls with jam or dulce de leche spread. We then packed our bags, loaded the Toyota and went on our way. First stop was a pre-Inca chullpa site where some of the coral funerary towers still contained skeletons. Our guide claimed that this 1500-year-old race averaged a height of only one metre, but the remains didn’t look that small.
Then some rock formations to clamber over, and a view of a semi-active volcano (we saw the fumarole issuing steam) – apparently it last erupted in 2001.
Kirsten’s stone tower.
Desert plants.
A series of lagunas (Canapa, Hedionda and Honda – hang on, it’s the Renault Laguna, not the Honda Laguna…) populated with flamingoes; lots of scope for panoramic views here. The Andean flamingo has a black tail, but the majority were James flamingoes.
Today’s road was far bumpier than yesterday’s; we were off the flat salt plains and going cross-country where the way was hardly marked at all (the guides navigate using the hills as landmarks).
We stopped for lunch at the second laguna, which was clearly set up for the task; each jeep parked next to a permanent picnic table. Chicken Milanesa with potatoes, beans, carrots and twirly pasta, then a banana for dessert. Not Inca Trail standard, but it filled us up nicely.
Much of the afternoon was spent driving through a barren wilderness; miles and miles of stony soil with scarcely a plant maintaining a foothold at this altitude. We passed a lone cyclist pushing his bike for miles in the cold, dusty wind beneath intense sunlight. A mile further on we got a puncture, and during the twenty minutes needed for the repair the cyclist took the lead again.
Further on we came to the mountain of seven colours (no, not quite a rainbow, but various earth tones of rock), and then to one of the most famous landmarks of this trip, the Arbol de Piedra (the stone tree). This is a Dali-esque rock apparently defying gravity, ridiculously top-heavy like those elephants on stilts.
A little way on to our final site of the day, the Laguna Colorada. It has extensive red patches, but our guide wasn’t forthcoming about what causes the colour. A lot of the time it’s just ‘here it is – you have ten minutes to take your photos’.
After this we paid 30 Bs each for entrance to a Reserve (the girls were free again) and soon were at our hotel. Well, it’s a dorm room sleeping up to seven, so we are sharing with Manuela and Enrico, our German co-travellers. One toilet/basin for three groups, no shower, and the usual tables (one per group) for tea, supper and breakfast. As I look out of the window I can see two chunks of meat hung up to dry on a washing line. Is that our supper?
Our table was set up for tea/coffee and biscuits and as we were enjoying those the room was getting colder and colder and we were all slowly putting on extra layers of clothing. Soon it was 7pm and time for supper, or so we thought. The other two tables were laid out and served a starter and main course *before* we even got our plates. In the end I went to ask whether we were given some supper and soon a lady came in with plates and cutlery. Then another long wait before we were served our soup. At last, we could start to warm up, as the little stove was hardly burning.
We had half a bottle of wine left over from yesterday, and again I had to go and ask for glasses. We felt pretty let down by the lady looking after our table. After the delicious soup we were offered pasta with freshly made tomato sauce (no meat), but the food cooled off pretty quickly.
On top of this we hadn’t seen our guide since tea time and we needed to know the plan for tomorrow. Eventually he turned up and apologised for not being there for us – apparently he had been repairing the flat tyre!
We have a 4.30am start tomorrow morning, so must try and get some sleep…
Global Prices' Family RTW Trip 