Day two in the Solar was a wonderful journey through giant cacti, past lagunas with flocks of pink flamingos. We drove by the old abandoned railway from Bolivia to the ocean through what is now Chili. We saw puffs of steam from dormant volcanos. There were small villages with dogs and children and the ever present llamas. We saw our first Vacunas. The highlight was obviously the Sol de Manana in the other gallery.
Cereus tarijensis Vaupel. They look like the Saguaro Cacti of Arizona.
Our finnish friend getting up close and hugging the cactus
Not a pleasant experience. I wonder if it was used as a form of torture. Death by a thousand pricks.
The spines.
Looking back down toward the Solar.
Our traveling companion from New Zealand.
Our hostel for the night.
I've never seen so many ancient cacti.
Empty, decaying stone buildings.
Stone fences lining fields on the hillside.
Morning tour up to see the cacti. We walked through this empty stone village.
Stone oven.
Roofless houses.
I'd love to have a stone fence like this at my house.
A stop in the local village. Llamas parading through. A quick stop in the market.
Bike tube and a hunk of meat.
Solar panels in the Solar.
Bolivian dog.
Which track do we take?
The old train track to the ocean.
The moon and the volcanoe.
And now the pink flamingos.
They just eat and eat the red algae which turns them a pink color. Sad to say but they are really bottom feeders.
Lunch at the Laguna
A Flamingo walking through muck.
In flight.
Beautiful scene
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Progression of Flamingo landing.
Flamingo panorama. "Bolivia's Laguna Colorada is home to Puna (or James's) Flamingos and Andean Flamingos, as well as small populations of the more widespread Chilean Flamingo." Cornell Lab of Ornothology. Marita Davidson.
Obligatory shot.
Group photo. We were the oldest of the group. Again!
Obligatory couples photo.
Arbol de Piedra.
The only directions in the Solar.
Laguna Colorado.
The driveby shootings...
Primitive Road.
David drawing I love Lisa in the Solar.
Primitive Road. No maps, no road signs, no stop signs, no Triple A, and no 911.
Old Borax mine.
Old Borax mine.
Abandoned remanents of the mine.
Abandoned remanents of the mine.
The Trouble with these Tribbles is they take 100s of years to grow. 2 cm per year. They grow on rock and the inside looks like wood and can be used for firewood.
A volcano
Steam vent.
Bird rock.
Primitive Road.
Which way?
Walking down to the next Laguna.
Incoming...
Racing through the Solar. Stay tuned they are going to be hosting a big off road race in the near future.
Beautiful Flamingos. Here is a link to a good website with info about the Flamingos. Cornell Lab of Ornothology
Prancing.
Exquisite color!
Now the road is getting rougher and more technical!
Entrance to the National Park.
Evening dinner at our hostel.
