TATA INTI In Aymara Inti means sun and tata god: the sun god. After buying a couple of hats made of alpaca and filling the petrol tank we headed off to the cactus forest. Indications were very poor, locals were not a help really. We just followed a road without knowing where we were going. THE CACTUS FOREST From far away appeared some straight forms, unrecognizable. A deja vu - searching for nothing. We did not give up and our efforts were just rewarded. A rhea just crossed the road. We had to stop and observer that bird that looks alike an ostrich, a bit smaller and thinner. Closer to the foothills we distinguished many sizes and forms of cacti. It lifted up our spirit. We parked the car and started exploring the forest. At that altitude, we needed to take everything slowly as our body still was not used to the sickness altitude, even after a week. Giant cacti - as you think that they grow 1 cm per year. We felt tiny against those giants with long spikes. We had a view on a salar. The region overflows with salars big or small, We were delighted to be back into a silent environment but we had to support an oppressive heat. A place that is dry and empty of life. Time does not exist only the weather rules over the desert. Feeling woozy we had to watch our steps since spikes were everywhere. Baby cacti tried to find their ways and laid on the ground. PULCHULDIZA That day we had quite long distance to drive. We were between no man land and villages. Another sightseeing was the Geyser of Pulchuldiza. Now we were used to drive off road. Still the landscape was stunning! Once we reached the place, we had to pay an entry fee and we could enjoy a ride in the geysers area. The fumes and the hot water that they gushed were quite insignificant as they had small holes a part from one. That one did not jet at all.However the babbling and the earth colour were impressive. We were fascinated by the dark ocher colour patched with deep green ones and traced with white ones. In some places the great variety of colours changed from shades of blue, pink and reddish colours. Without knowing it we had two thermal baths: one with a turquoise colour but freezing water and the other one a dark blue colour but warm water. Önder dove in the later one. I could not. The air was so icy and the wind blew up. I just watched and envied at the same time Önder having a swim! DARK OCHER COLOUR Absorbed by this natural phenomenon we lost our sight into this myriad of colours that could express an artist brush strokes. Inspiring! When we left the place, the guard at the entrance asked us if he could come with us. He looked at us with such an envy, it was hurting to see such pity eyes. He could not let us go. Surely, he imagined us with our easy urban life with access to everything. We pictured his life in a such an environment where life is motionless and timeless but quiet. Both sides admire each other, thinking that it is impossible to swap life.
MOLINOS We heard that Molinos was a beautiful place to visit. We experienced that so well in China, so we did not trust such words. As it is only a 10 km detour, we just went there. Molinos is a village where the Chilean government convinced investors to pave the streets, to restore or build new houses, and build a square in front of the church. Nothing but an empty space...It still has some vestiges that evoked a prosperous past. A 4000 m pass Still driving up, although we knew that in the evening we would reach the sea level, we were amazed by the beauty of the colours. Ochers, pink and green were mixed to turn this landscape into a painting. CHUSMIZA THERMAL BATH Chusmiza an unforgettable place that combines thermal baths and swimming pool. Not easy to find, the road was steep and narrow, villagers not very helpful and friendly. We made our way and enjoy one hour in this mountainous scenery. 3600 m, 40 degrees water temperature, 30 minutes time allowed to stay in the bath! TO HUERA After a refreshing and relaxing bath, we continue our trip to Huerta. Mandatory stops to see the geoglyphs we´ve never seen! Colours went from ocher to black, grey and lava. THE ATACAMA GIANT A giant in the middle of the desert representing a deity, age 1000 a.c. We count about 5000 geoglyphs in the region. It was created to predict the weather, when aligned with the moon. At Huara after a day full of adventures we ate a Chilean meal: meat with rice, salad or chips, and a soup.
It was easy to find a room at 4 p.m because the restaurant, where we ate, offers accommodation too at reasonable prices with hot showers. We did not count on that any more, as hot showers here are more lukewarm than hot. Once again we were lucky as a couple just got married and celebrated their wedding over the weekend! We were back to the civilisation!
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