Day 1

I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama it is a small, dusty town with no asphalted roads. The first thing that I note, is the presence of many nice dogs, living free in the town. This is an old mountain town, also called "El Oasis," at 2,500 meters near the Bolivian border.
I join a group to cross the bolivan desert. A short minibus ride, brings the us from San Pedro de Atacama to the Bolivian's border. The road climbs from San Pedro to the Altiplano, reaching up to 4500 meters above sea level in less than one hour. On the way, the bus stops on a nice viewpoint to Licancabur volcano, it is almost 6000 meters tall, and its on the Bolivian / Chile state line

We soon arrive at Laguna Blanca (white lagoon) so called because of the colour caused by the high concentration of salt and minerals. The lake is partly frozen, as the night temperature usually drops many degrees below freezing point. We leave the minibus at Laguna Blanca, and divide into groups of six and continue on in a 4WD. The first stop is at Laguna Verde, a beautiful lake coloured by minerals which is nestled beneath towering volcanoes.

(Laguna Verde)This stunning blue-green lake, situated at an elevation of 5000m (16,400ft), is tucked into the southwestern corner of Bolivia, almost 100km (62mi) from Sol de Manana. Behind the lake rises the 5930m (19,450ft) cone of Volcano Licancabur, whose summit shelters an Inca crypt. If you get goosebumps up here, it may not just be the weather. Young Inca men were marched to the summit without protective clothing and forced to freeze to death as a sacrifice to the gods.

Our Bolivian driver calls it "the highway". This dusty track will be our road for the next 4 days, up to Uyuni, far to the northeast. The life up here is not easy and only few highly specialized plants and animals can live and reproduce here. Because of the elevation, the atmospheric pressure is much lower than normal, as well as the oxygen and the humidity. The temperature is very cold at night, but the sun is hot with higher levels of UV rays. Everything is much more tiring than normal, even taking a picture, as the body and the brain is hungry for oxygen. It took two nights for me to acclimatize, then each day got better.

The trip continues to a lagoon containing hot water because of geothermal activity. When the level of the water is higher, it is also possible to bathe in. Sometimes, steam and dust rises from the ground. After some hours, we reach a Geothermal Field at 5000 meters of elevation. Clouds of steam rises from the hot muds, leaving in the air a dense smell of sulfur. Enormous holes containing boiling mud and steamimg geysers cover an area of approximately 1 sqaure mile. Now my body is really beginning to feel the effects of the altitude.

After a long trip starting early morning in San Pedro, we reach our final destination of the day Laguna Colorada (red lagoon). Pink flamingos populate Laguna Colorada, eating the algae contained in the water.

(Laguna Colorada) This fiery red lake in the far southwest of Bolivia is in a remote highland area surrounded by a surreal treeless landscape spotted with gentle hills which resemble spilt chocolate sundaes. Birdwatchers will be particularly interested in the rare James' flamingos that inhabit the lake. Temperatures drop below -20°C (-4°F), but the bitterly cold air is heavily perfumed with the scent of yareta, a shrub used as fuel. 50km (31mi) south of the lake is the 4800m (15,745ft) Sol de Mañana, where a geyser, bubbling mud pools and hellish fumaroles belch stinky sulphurous fumes into the fresh mountain air

It’s been a tough day, but well worth the agony of my pounding head from the high altitude. Tonight we sleep at a refuge 4800 meters above sea level. To get to sleep is trying to say the least, so I close my eyes and I can still see the beautiful images... Laguna Verde... the geysers... Laguna Colorada. to keep the mind occupied, while my heart races and my body slowly adapts to the altitude!