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Altiplano
Bolivia
Bec2004-09-15 17:49:57
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Laguna Verde
This is the eastern part of Laguna Verde immediately north of the Juriques and Licancabur volcanoes seen here. Licancabur rises to 5916 meters next to the laguna at 4350 meters. The colour of these salt lagoons comes from the various micro organisms that have become dominant in each one. The people we see were all off the bus that brought us here from San Pedro de Atacama. Physical exertion at this altitude quickly leads to breathlessness.
The border formalities were carried out here on the shore of the western part of Laguna Verde a few km inside Bolivia. Here, the busload of tourists were distributed between the four wheel drive vehicles of the various tour operators. Luckily, there were only two other passengers (Barbara and Peter) and the driver Doro in my vehicle. Most 4by4's were crowded with five passengers.
Altiplano
I had a good detailed map and tried to identify as many of the features as I could but our Bolivian driver Doro often gave us erroneous indications. When confronted with the map he would claim that the map was wrong since it was Chilean. Bolivians don't like Chileans much since they lost the War of the Pacific in 1884.
For that reason I unfortunately cannot identify the range of mountains in front of us
Aguas Calientes
A thermal spring flowing into this lagoon gave it the name of Aguas Calientes (hot waters) and attracts tourists who stop for a quick dip. There were no facilities whatsoever. Were Bolivia a developed country, there would be a fancy spa here and tourists would complain that the incredible scenery was ruined by hot dog stands. Well, that's not the case so look carefully and enjoy the pristine beauty of this isolated place!
The Toyota Land Cruisers belong to the tour operators but it appears that each expedition is the private venture of the drivers who
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See photographs from:
Bolivia Gallery
