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Lastnight I barely slept a wink in anticipation of today's full day excursion of which I have no idea what or where we will be going. By 7am the mini van and Eduardo our Chilean Guide (Spanish speaking only) picked me up before heading to the hostel down the road to pick up the 6 others. In the group we had a lovely couple from San Sebastián - somewhere I am very familiar with, a young couple from Rio in Brazil and a wonderful couple from Uruguay. Eduardo was full of energy and excitement and I only wish I could of understood more of what he was saying but his Spanish was difficult to understand. Our first stop was breakfast at a roadside cafe; it was very basic tea, coffee, some bread with no jam and two plates of scrambled eggs - however it did give me a chance to get to know the rest of the group and they were all really nice people with lots of information to share. Just up the road was our first stop, after paying our couple of dollar entrance fee (tganks to my student card again) we came to Miscanti Lagoona and what an amazing place it was, the site of 4 volcanoes overshadowing a deep blue lake. At this point I realized I should have brought a jacket, it was not only freezing cold but the wind was incredibly strong and with it the freezing air. There were two very tame foxes with beautiful fur coats (Andean foxes) that came within 20 odd meters of us - a rare treat. After a short walk we were back in the car to visit another lake 5 minutes further on - here we took some great action shots and a nice group photo before the freezing winds forced us back into the van. Another hour on and a good sleep for me we came to the famous Piedra Roja - without a doubt the coldest and windiest place I have ever been. To say I wasn't dressed correctly for these conditions is a serious understatement and one of the girls even offered me one of her jackets (of which I Ofcourse declined). After everyone rugged up and prepared for the onslaught we walked head first into the pelting and freezing wind for what seemed like hours. The wind actually burned the skin and I prayed for this experience to be over as quick as possible - battling to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Eduardo pointed to a rock and told me to get out there for a photo, I battled my way out and was almost blown away in the process, we then dropped below some rocks out of the wind - pure bliss! After some more photos lots of hiding behind rocks and a very fast walk back to the van it was all over and we were back loaded in the van with heater turned full on. It took me hours to get my body temperature back up and I could feel the cold all the way to my bones. For lunch we stopped in the small town where we had eaten breakfast and were served up a very tasty and needed vegetable soup followed by a choice of roast lamb, chicken or turkey. Having not eaten turkey in years I went for it and it was delicious and came with a decent salad and a side of quinoa. After lunch we drove another 45 minutes to the highlight of the region: The Atacama salt lake situated within a basin or deep depression between two very different mountain ranges. Eduardo pulled a trick where he turned our vehicle off and had the van roll at what appeared to be an uphill inclination - I could not quite understand the reason but I believe it was an optical illusion - whatever the reason it didn't matter it was mind boggling. Arriving at the actual Salar Eduardo after hearing about my travela snuck me passed the entrance counter avoiding the $5 entrance fee - a small but heartfelt gesture. We walked out onto the salt flat and good to observe the three different varieties of Flamencos that occupy the salt flat and Lagoona whilst at the same time getting a description of the area. Our last stop was the small Salar town of Toconao where there wasn't really a lot to see except an old church made from various woods including cactus which I had never seen before. The drive back was quick and I spent the time talking to my new Brazilian friends about my upcoming visit and their recommendations. After thanking Eduardo and saying goodbye to my new friends I headed back to Luis's place where I met the lovely Italian Couchsurfers who have been cycling across South America. Along with Pueblo we had one of those amazing and enlightening conversations that remind you of ones purpose in life and how the change in thinking is the actual revolution and it is happening all around us. I headed into the town centre and brought my bus ticket for Santiago; a 23 hour bus ride leaving Saturday and arriving Sunday. I also stopped by the market and brought a few things which reminded me how expensive Chile is; 40cents an egg and 70c an apple is going to have me on a diet quick smart. The rest of the afternoon I chatted with the two Italian cyclists -a wealth of information and inspiration. I was going to meet the lads tonight but was too late when they finished their dinner so I will go say goodbye to them in the morning.
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