Lauca National Park covers the boarder between Bolivia and the north of Chile. It is not a place all that many tourists visit, so we decided to avoid the crowds and give it a try.
The volcano.
This plant grows over the rocks. It has medicinal benefits for diabetes and asthma. It can live up to 180 years. Every night, it secretes an ooze that covers the entire plant and protects it from the cold. When the sun comes up, the ooze evaporates.
We stopped at a small pueblo in the middle of the reserve. The church in the town was built in the 1600s. Within the church, the guide pointed out this table that was tied to a support beam. Should the table go untied, he assured us, it will walk around town at night. If a family wakes to find the table in front of their house, it is an omen that a family member will die soon.
And that is why the table must be tied up. Makes sense to me.
During one of our small wonderings away from the truck, we encountered a llama stuck in a ditch. Our guide said that the llama would freeze to death if he was not rescued. Julie and I were sure the llama was doomed. Llama bones scattered the ground (sometimes they get killed by foxes or freeze) and we thought this llama would be no different. We started asking ourselves if we should deviate from our tour to drive to a town to get a rope, when our guide pulled off his jacket. Straddling the water, he grabbed the llama by the wool and pulled. The llama gave a giant groan before landing on the bank. The guide explained that llamas are not all that heavy, they just look large because of all the wool.
The wildlife was wonderful; flamingoes, a strange bunny like creature (with spectacular whiskers), Andean geese and of course vicunas.
The town of Putre, where we stayed for 2 nights to access the reserve was one of the coldest places I have ever been.
No comments:
Post a Comment