We spent the last day in the Atacama Desert, continuing with the journey towards Chile. We woke up nice and early at 4:30-sh AM so we can be in the jeep by 5:20. Waking up so early should be illegal. Since my brain wasn’t even a fraction awake I continued the first two hours of the trip in my pyjamas. I did change eventually, but not before my body started to feel just a little bit comfortable with the morning negative many degrees.
Gazers in PJs
First stop of the day were the gazers. And I saw them in PJ’s since it was dark enough not be noticeable. The gazers are formed because of volcanic activity so basically we went driving on an active volcano to see them. Unlike what we expected, we could touch them and feel the warm air coming out from the underground. Light started to appear as we were passing through this area. The cold had me frozen inside the car but my friend managed to snap a picture of the scenery. Bless her.
Morning hot-springs
Second stop was by a natural hot-spring. Even though the water seemed invitingly warm, I was still not convinced that I could bear the cold of getting out of the small hot pool. So, I just stayed on the side enjoying the morning views and taking pictures of the brave ones. My travel companion was one of the brave ones. Also, she took one of the coolest sunrise shots ever with the camera partially covered in water.
Salvador Dali’s inspiration
This part of the desert bears the famous painter’s name. It is believed that he came here at some point in his life and the formations of this area inspired him for many of his surrealistic paintings. Dali or no Dali, I can definitely see how this place can transpose anyone’s senses into a surreal world. The desert, the mountains, and even the clouds seem to have been hand made by a giant’s hands and specifically placed there, as if to show us all a beautiful work of art.
Laguna Verde
The last lake we got to see was at the foot of the volcano Licancabur. The border with Chile was just 15 minutes away from here and as we contemplated on the side of the lake we said our goodbyes to the Bolivian beauty and serenity that we were leaving behind. After 10 days in this beautiful country we moved on to new adventures. Yet, a piece of our hearts remained buried deep in the sands of the desert.
xoxo
