DAY 12: DEC 22 WED
EL TATIO, LAGUNA TABINQUICHE
El Tatio is a geothermal field with 80 geysers located 90 km north of San Pedro de Atacama at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level.
It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. the name "El Tatio", means "oven" or "grandfather" or the ''Old man who weeps". The main range behind the geysers does look like a weeping grandpa with the snow streaks.
Low expectations and Late start
We had been told we'll be picked up between 4.30-5 am.We were ready by 4.25, locked our cabin and sat in the dining room of our complex where the window overlooks the road. Saw a van stop at our gate at 4.50 and ran out, got into the van. It was already full. We picked up just one more couple. The guide was profusely apologizing, said her alarm did not go off, this is the 1st time in 5 years. .
We had very low expectations from this trip. We have been to geysers in New Zealand, Yellowstone USA, Iceland and we thought this will be meh! And the guide had made us late and we'll arrive well after sunrise. The temperature is the coldest before dawn and geyser activity is more, also It's easier to see the white steam in the dark rather than in daylight.
AMAZING GUIDE &A FAB TIME
Anyway we were so wrong. We had a fabulous time and we LOVED our guide. She was very knowledgeable and she translated everything into English for the 2 of us. She even knew our names.
When we reached the national park, a ranger came to our van and collected the entry charges in cash from our guide. We visited the rest room. The temperature was below freezing and we were attired in layers of warm clothes. The altitude is 14000 ft, so we had to move slow and hydrate frequently. Air is thin, oxygen saturation is low and people can get altitude sickness.
And some fumaroles emit toxic fumes.
We were there only at 7.20 because of our late start, the other groups had left, so we think it was fine. We saw lots of vicunas and flamingos too.
UP, CLOSE & PERSONAL
This area has the smaller geysers . We were driven to another area with 4 large geysers. One of them is the KILLER because of tourist deaths .
Shocking thing about this geyser field is that the re is only a stone border. The ground nearby can also collapse and there have been 9 deaths here. In other countries there is huge space between spectators and the geysers.
The weeping grandpa in the background... our wonderful guide to the right
Flamingos... the ones with pink tail are Chilean, black tails are Andean
El Tatio lies at the western foot of a series of stratovolcanoes, which runs along the border between Chile and Bolivia. part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the Andes. This is a system of large calderas which have been the sources of super eruptions between 10 and 1 million years ago. These calderas are the source of heat for the El Tatio geothermal system. .
This mound is million years old... it's mostly silica
We were driven to the near by bigger geysers... saw 4 of them including the KILLER
Our breakfast. We had told the lady we are vegetarians. She had remembered to put in the info and we got a great cheese sandwich. It was biting cold but we had thermal inners also and were good.
Guide said the re were rules not to eat inside the van. We think they just did not wsnt their van littered.
There was hot water for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, We just had the juice
Andean gull waiting for tidbits... we never feed wild creatures. Our guide also requested every one not to.
We were on our way back
This is the 'decent ' road after lot of potholes on totally unpaved terrain
A middle aged woman lives here with her animals
village Machuka
Chilean flamingos with pink tails
Plenty of flamingos here
Andean flamingos with black tail
We were dropped back at our hotel first. We had our lunch and started our drive.
Reached laguna Tabinquiche
Laguna Tabinquiche
The lagoon looked more like a salar/salt bed , the docent had said it was a white lagoon because of the minerals. But we did see the blue color glistening n the middle.
BLUE SKIES, STILL WIND AND AWESOME REFLECTIONS
It's usually quite windy, but we had some minutes of still weather and enjoyed stunning reflections in the lagoon.
There were 2 entrances/car parks. We were retracing our way when the wind started blowing and the reflections disappeared. A group of tourists entering walked past this area without a 2nd glance.
WELL, SUCH IS LIFE! We were very happy with our good fortune of catching an awesome sight.
Report continues here
https://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2022/03/chile-trip-report-day-13-garganta-del.html
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