Purmamarca - a colorful town with a seven-colored mountain
Photo stop at the Salinas Grandes - we practice for the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
Nothing works anymore - the bitter cold makes us freeze
Welcome to Chile - strict border controls are taking their toll
We are on the way to Chile. From Salta we want to head over the Jama Pass to San Pedro de Atacama. Until then there are still around 600 km and many meters of altitude. Specifically, we have to cross the Andes, the pass is at 4,831 m - the Jama Pass is one of the highest paved highways in South America. There are two highlights on the way there that we want to take with us.
The first is the Cerro de Siete Colores in Purmamarca – a mountain that has 7 different colors created by the different minerals found in the earth. They are almost perfectly aligned one on top of the other on the slope of the hill (since each layer was formed millions of years apart). Seen are pink (made of red clay), white (made of limestone), areas of brown and purple (made of lead and sandy clay), red (made of iron and clay), green (made of copper oxide), earthy brown (made of magnesium), and Mustard (made from sulfur). Of course there is a viewpoint from which you supposedly have the perfect view of the mountain. We're not the types for that kind of thing, but we'll go up for a quick family photo. Afterwards we walk the Camino “Los Colorados”, a circular route around the surrounding mountains. We like the views here much better, as well as the peace and quiet. Nobody is here.
Afterwards we stroll through the town. It's time for Diego for his lunch and we're in the mood for coffee and something sweet. The place is very touristy, but still friendly. Everything is clean and well maintained. You can find stalls with souvenirs and clothes everywhere. Basically they all sell the same thing: all sorts of things made from sheep and alpaca wool, clay objects and souvenirs. Especially small, colorful alpacas. Diego chooses one of these. Or rather, we choose one for him because we also want to use it as a photo object for our next stop at the Salinas Grandes :-)
The Salinas Grandes is the largest salt pan in Argentina – basically the equivalent of the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. However, at 212 km², it is relatively small in comparison. Still, kilometers upon kilometers of brilliant white stretch before our eyes, creating a feeling of infinite space. Due to the lack of relations, it is possible to take funny photos with a shifted perspective. I plan my desired motifs days in advance and collect the corresponding props (called “props” in technical language). Micha is less enthusiastic about it. For him it doesn't have much to do with photography. He's right, it's actually a lot of fun. The photos are not taken with a professional camera, but with a cell phone. This is the only way to have both objects in focus. When we arrive, we are initially shocked by the many tourists taking their photos just a few meters apart. Well, Diego needs his porridge again anyway. Lo and behold, an hour later, all the tourist buses have disappeared and we have the salt flats to ourselves. It is administered by the indigenous population that owns the territory. There is a small entrance fee of €2 per person, even including the guide. That's really more than fair. Pablo explains to us a lot about the manual method of producing salt. To do this, basins about 80 cm deep are dug out in which the salt crystallizes. After about 2 years, the area is “regenerated” again, in contrast to industrial salt production, where many times the amount is extracted. This type is also available here. We see truck after truck loaded with tons of salt racing across the salt flats. Well, at least it's better than building a lithium mine. Because this raw material is also available here. However, the indigenous population is doing everything it can to preserve the place as it is - so far with success.
We take some fun photos with Pablo. He is truly a pro when it comes to placing the items and skillfully directs us to the exact positions. And he is also open to special requests - of course with Diego.
The next day we want to look at the Ojos del Mar, freshwater holes in the middle of the salt pan. They glow in a very intense blue, and depending on the light, in other colors that are created by the elements that are still contained in them. Orange, for example, due to sulfur, green due to copper oxide. They are fed underground by the surrounding mountains and can only be seen in winter. In summer the salt pan is flooded anyway and is one giant mirror.
We also learn a lot about the formation of the huge salt flats millions of years ago. They formed through the evaporation of ancient bodies of water with a high concentration of volcanic salts. Over the millennia, the evaporated water left behind salt deposits that solidified and formed today's salt pans, up to 30 cm thick. The dry climate and the lack of water runoff from the surrounding mountains contribute to the salt continuing to collect there.
At the Ojos we take some photos with beautiful reflections. Micha is again not very enthusiastic about the “clearance”. Each family gets three motifs. I, on the other hand, am happy that the three of us are finally in the photo!
Now we are finally heading towards the border. We spent the night at the Salinas Grandes at 3,450 m, we slept another night at Susques at around 3,700 m, and then slept at 4,200 m after the border. Slow acclimatization - especially at night - is important in order to tolerate the altitude as best as possible. Of course you always notice something. During the day, everything is more strenuous, and at night, sleep isn't quite as restful. To prevent altitude sickness, we chew coca leaves diligently, as we did in Puna.
In total, Micha and I have now spent about 6 months in Argentina and another 2 months with Diego, and we will miss this country. We never imagined it could be so diverse, from the glaciers of Patagonia, to the spectacular marine life at Valdes, to the breathtaking plateaus in the north. And the compatriots were always hospitable and warm. We felt very comfortable. So we leave Argentina with a tear in our eyes, but we are also looking forward to Chile and the other highlights.
Already at the border we notice the cultural differences between Argentina and Chile. While the Argentinian border official is blown away by Diego, flirting with him and almost wanting to marry him off to her 3-year-old daughter, the Chilean sits behind his PC with headphones and takes our passports without saying “Buenos Dias”. Well… and then some food is taken away from us when we enter the country. Good thing we hid the coca leaves well. In Chile it is strictly speaking considered a drug :-)
Immediately after the border we look for our place to spend the night. It's already 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the rest of the route goes steadily uphill before dropping steeply over 60 km to San Pedro de Atacama. So we are well advised to stay overnight here so that we don't have to sleep higher than 4,200 m. Laguna Negra seems to us to be an idyllic place for this. Flamingos are not here at this time of year, but the place is still a dream. In winter the lagoon has relatively little water and so we drive on the flat until just before the shore.
Diego wakes us up at 7 a.m. and I'm shocked to see that the diesel auxiliary heater is off. Error message 13. I have no idea what that means (of course we don't have the operating instructions available offline), definitely nothing good given the temperatures outside. It's -15 degrees. Even after trying several times it no longer starts. Well, then we just have to get going. Unfortunately, the engine doesn't start either - or it just shuts off again. We quickly realize that the diesel has flocculated.
Such a crap. We already had this problem once when we didn't have any winter diesel in the tank in Livigno, Italy. Here we made sure to only fill up with premium diesel. Unfortunately, the South American premium product can only tolerate -7 degrees. We didn't know that before either. Unfortunately, we also parked so that the engine block is completely in the shade! Micha places a gas stove under the tank and finally a second one in the engine compartment. I'm busy keeping Diego happy. Not that easy, because he's so wrapped up he can hardly move and play. We set a deadline. If the engine isn't running by 2 p.m., we'll get help. Thankfully the main street is in sight. Lo and behold, the engine finally starts at 1:16 p.m. We're pretty tense for the first few minutes and hope that he doesn't go out again straight away. Phew! Just went well again. What a welcome in Chile! Things can only go up. And so, with white smoke coming out of the exhaust, we continue up the pass towards San Pedro de Atacama.
