23rd December 2024

After breakfast we were back on the road, comforted by the rocking motion of the jeep. None of us slept this time, now accustomed to the altitude, we sat alert and watched the scenery around us. There was a distinct change in the geography of the land today. There was more life: greenery, flora and, even in some places, cultivated quinoa and potato plants. There were more streams passing through the valleys which I guess allowed for the sudden increase of vegetation. 

We stopped at a lava field and admired the giant, brick coloured rocks with irregular shapes and holes. The site would have made a fantastic climbing destination with interesting groves and indentations that could serve as hand and foot holds. We climbed a collection of boulders which led to a balcony of sorts overlooking the exposed lava field. We weren’t the only ones climbing; Viscachas, a rodent similar to a chinchilla, flew up and down the vertical rocks with ease, their long tails bouncing as they went.

In the afternoon we stopped by at a salt mining town consisting of a single dirt road with shacks lining each side. A football pitch stood redundant, goal posts neglected and netless as jeeps drove through it. We stopped by a shop with brightly coloured flags out front and some benches under a tin roof that extended from the sand coloured building. We brought a drink and an ice cream and sat down outside. 

We were joined by a little girl, hair in plaits and wearing a pink bucket hat. The girl happily sat with us, chattering away in Spanish and practically sitting on my lap. I cracked off the base of my cone and scoped some of the ice cream into it and passed it over. She happily ate it before grabbing my hand and leading me out back where her and a boy of a similar age began a game of table football. Despite the language barrier I understood that us girls were Madrid and the boy was Barcelona.

As darkness fell, we arrived at the Salt Hotel, here we showered, unpacked and enjoyed dinner with the others.