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The expertise there at night time leaves you speechless. I may say magnificent, galactic. I used to be in an space of the desert flooded with water about 10-20 cm from the “permasal”. I obtained rubber boots and went all the way down to the images. The water was very very chilly and you might really feel it even via your boots and three pairs of socks.
Picture credit score: Attila Munzlinger
We managed to take magnificent photos. I didn’t handle to get precisely the mirrored galaxy impact within the water, as a result of there have been nonetheless a couple of gusts of wind that stirred the water a bit and distorted the reflection within the water mirror a bit. However the photos turned out tremendous superb anyway and the Galactic expertise, the sky being terribly clear, with out gentle air pollution.
A bit oh throwback and context:
In the summertime of 2019 I went on an intensive tour of western South America. Passing via 5 territories of the continent took me via fascinating locations, distinctive on the planet. I stood by the Hand of the Desert, trying up on the southern night time sky of the Atacama desert, and drove the most important dunes on the planet and the paths of desert valleys with such a distinct look that individuals gave them names just like the Valley of the Moon or the Valley of the Planet Mars.
I took night time photos close to the Three Sisters within the Valley of the Moon. I gazed westward into the Pacific Ocean, out within the open, alongside the stone statues of the vanished civilization of Easter Island—the japanese tip of Polynesia. I had lunch in the course of the Bolivian salt desert and at night time I photographed my reflection within the water mirror of the flattest and whitest place on Earth.
We stayed in a villa fabricated from salt and cactus wooden.
We went to the cactus island of the salt desert. I listened to the tales of the astronomers from ALMA – an observatory situated at over 5000m altitude, but additionally to these of the native inhabitants of the floating islands of Lake Titicaca.
We drove quick on dust desert roads to see the flamingos at sundown. I went to Macchu Picchu.
We went to Cusco.
We noticed the oldest pyramids in South America, the over 5000 12 months previous ones from Caral.
We went to the witches market in La Paz and noticed the singing fountains in Lima.
It was a monumental journey in only one month, elements of which might be monumental journeys in themselves.
The pretext the outlet journey was the jiffy of photo voltaic eclipse, the third photo voltaic eclipse for me.
The remainder of the journeys and the fascinating issues skilled concentrated inside a month make me surprise what I do with my time at residence when week after week, month after month goes by with out discovering something notable.
And I miss leaving my residence once more, to go and uncover these superb locations on distant corners of the planet.
Picture credit score: Attila Munzlinger
The tour was organized by the SARM Romania astroclub, of which I’m a member. The official identify was SARM Romania Expedition – South American Eclipse 2019, extending from June 25 to July 22, 2019.
Given the depth and extension of the journey, we now have divided the story into 9 elements, introduced in chronological order as follows:
- Buenos Aires;
- Chile – Introduction to Chile and The Photo voltaic Eclipse 2019;
- Easter Island;
- Chile – Atacama Desert, Valley of Loss of life (or Mars) and different superb locations;
- Chile – Moon Valley and the Flamingo Birds;
- Bolivia – Salar de Uyuni or the Salt Desert;
- Bolivia – La Paz, Tiwanaku and different superb locations;
- Peru – Machu Picchu and Cuzco;
- Peru – Lima, Nazca and the Caral Pyramids.
Salt Desert or Salar de Uyuni
July 11 – Thursday
Thursday we left within the morning again to Calama the place I handed over the automobiles and went on with a coach to Uyuni.
On the border with Bolivia we modified the bus. The extra unique a part of the journey started, unique not within the tropical sense of Easter Island however the entry into Bolivia after which Peru, poorer nations however by some means extra bohemian.
Coming into Bolivia was on foot, we picked up our baggage and went to the border for passport and visa checks. The border there may be old-fashioned. It seemed extra like a jail than a border crossing.
The extra poetic and unique a part of the journey had begun. I felt like I used to be in an American film set in El Paso.
On the way in which to the primary lodging in Bolivia, a salt home, the coach took us on a powerful street, the altimeter registering simply over 4000 m altitude, like coming near Mont Blanc.
After all, the acclimatization being finished step by step, the impact of the angle was not felt. I bear in mind the drivers have been already chewing coca leaves, they’d a plastic field with leaves subsequent to them.
You can be very disenchanted if you happen to think about that chewing coca leaves provides you any particular sensation. I drank plenty of coca tea in Bolivia, it’s like inexperienced tea, just a little weaker, and the leaves are fairly weak, a lot weaker than say tobacco leaves. It was as if tobacco was being chewed within the American Wild West.
We stopped by some naturally fashioned rock formations. The sphinx of Bucegi is a shapeless boulder along with the very clear form of this Bolivian eagle fabricated from high-altitude Atacama desert stone.
I arrived on the Casa Andina de Sal Resort 3* within the night, round 18:00.. Casa de Sal in its personal proper. A lodge made at the least partly from what we noticed, of blocks of salt. We have been already within the space of the large salt desert Salar de Uyuni, 3656 m altitude. Conventional constructing supplies within the space embrace salt, in stone-like blocks, and cactus wooden (cacti the scale of timber). Apart from, we have been later to go to a sort of island or forest on a hill or small mountain, stuffed with cacti as large because the timber.
Coming again, the lodge room had salt partitions and a lot of the salt furnishings, salt couch, salt desk and others. Nice expertise though I didn’t really feel like I used to be respiratory any higher due to the salt. Nevertheless it was good.
Within the night adopted a important attraction of the journey from Bolivia, in any other case a spotlight of your entire tour of South America, on a par with Easter Island, Eclipse and others.
That is the precise tour within the salt desert. In reality, the primary shift, the night time shift, with the jeeps. In Bolivia every little thing was cheaper, very low-cost. The tour price 30 {dollars} in situations the place anyway the costs are very excessive for vacationers, relative to the costs for locals.
The expertise there at night time leaves you speechless. I may say magnificent, galactic. I used to be in an space of the desert flooded with water about 10-20 cm from the permasal. I obtained rubber boots and went all the way down to the images. The water was very very chilly and you might really feel it even via your boots and three pairs of socks.
We managed to take magnificent photos. I didn’t handle to get precisely the mirrored galaxy impact within the water, as a result of there have been nonetheless a couple of gusts of wind that stirred the water a bit and distorted the reflection within the water mirror a bit. However the photos turned out tremendous superb anyway and the Galactic expertise, the sky being terribly clear, with out gentle air pollution.
There have been superb photographers in our group. The subsequent images are a few of theirs. A lot better than I may ever take.
Picture credit score: Attila Munzlinger
By comparability, that is one in all my images:
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July 12 – Friday
The subsequent morning we went to go to a kind of open-air museum of deserted trains. British trains from colonial instances. A lot mentioned in regards to the museum, it was a panorama worthy of Mad Max, however tremendous fascinating. Outdated trains, rusty trains. You may climb, go in every single place, on trains, in trains, below trains.
Subsequent to this Mad Max setting was after all an improvised memento bazaar. Besides the souvenirs have been actually fascinating. In reality, all of Bolivia is filled with tremendous fascinating and really low-cost souvenirs, many genuine, being a rustic lined by fakes and plastics to a lesser extent than the considerably richer neighboring nations round.
I’d get more cash with me subsequent time, simply to purchase and likewise encourage (a tiny bit) these artisans and the native economic system. They actually deserve it.
I took stones, boulders from that base. However boulders with ammonites fossils in them. They seemed like break up stone potatoes. Those that bought souvenirs there have been very motivated, so some made them on the spot. I took a bracelet and filmed the method of braiding the bracelet in place. Nice expertise.
Again to the Salt Desert, through the day this time
After this expertise, we went once more with the jeeps in Salar de Uyuni, this time through the day.
Throughout the day, Photo voltaic de Uyuni is a distinct superb expertise.
Concerning the salt desert, it’s an awfully flat floor, a layer of salt unfold over 10,582,000 sqm that’s over 3600m above sea degree, so flat that it’s used to calibrate satellites, the extent distinction on this floor is extra lower than 1m, aside from islands of hills or small mountain rises.
It seems that just a few giant areas of the planet method this degree of perfection as a flat floor. Salar de Uyuni is exclusive on the planet, and it’s not solely about this or the particular options it has, however in regards to the feeling you get while you’re there.
It was tremendous thrilling to drive the Jeeps at over 140km/h on this big nearly completely flat and nearly completely white floor you can truly eat off of. I tasted the salt there, regular salt, good to placed on the plate.
Some extra images:
One other spotlight of the day was visiting Icahuasi Island, additionally known as “El Corazon del Salar”, Isla Incahuasi is a totally completely different “island”.
It’s coronary heart formed and the very first thing that instantly catches your eye is the way in which it has been fashioned, while you step from the perfection of the salt desert onto the island it’s like climbing a step, so abrupt is the transition! Big cacti are discovered on the island, some reaching 12 m in peak.
What impresses probably the most is the fabulous panorama of Salar on the island, the sensation of being in the course of an unlimited expanse of white is completely unimaginable.
190712 – Salar Uyuni zi – Insula Cactusi DZ Iphone
One other spotlight of your entire journey was the lunch.
That’s as a result of the corporate that drove us with the Jeeps additionally introduced every little thing wanted for a restaurant desk (tables, chairs, tablecloths, cutlery, meals) however in the course of the white immensity of salt. I additionally had champagne, sure. Excellent.
However all good issues come to an finish. However not anyway, however with a beautiful sundown within the white desert. Within the afternoon he took us to the lodge to gather our baggage and we went to the airport for the flight to La Paz at 20.40.
After solely an hour of flight I landed at El Alto airport, one of many highest airports on the planet (4060 m alt) from the place I made the switch to the Camino Actual Residences Resort.
And within the capital La Paz, the altitude is between 3640 m alt to over 4000 m.
Nonetheless, what I didn’t point out is that beginning with Bolivia and persevering with with Peru, the inhabitants turns into largely Amerindian, versus the white Latin America of Chile and Argentina. Descendants of the Quechua, Inca, Amarya, Uros and different nations make up the vast majority of the inhabitants.
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