The holidays are over and we are heading north for Villa Union. First stop: the windswept stone formations of Guandacol. This oversized souvenir is called Copa del Mundo (World Cup).
The road then continues towards "Cuesta del Miranda", a stretch of scenic serpentines, perfect for shooting a BMW car commercial..., or just to look and enjoy. Very beautiful.
But next, something strange happened. As we reached the village of Aicuña, we expected to find walnut groves and a nice plaza (according to a tourist leaflet). Instead we found people staring at us in suspicion. Others hurried inside and eyed us through the curtains... They obviously wanted us gone. So we left... Back in Villa Union, voices turned to hushed whispers, when we were told about Aicuña's doubtful fame as the albino village. And that affected villagers (4 out of 300) are sick of being treated like a freak show, thus often prefer to hide. Fair enough – I wish we had known this before though.
But next, something strange happened. As we reached the village of Aicuña, we expected to find walnut groves and a nice plaza (according to a tourist leaflet). Instead we found people staring at us in suspicion. Others hurried inside and eyed us through the curtains... They obviously wanted us gone. So we left... Back in Villa Union, voices turned to hushed whispers, when we were told about Aicuña's doubtful fame as the albino village. And that affected villagers (4 out of 300) are sick of being treated like a freak show, thus often prefer to hide. Fair enough – I wish we had known this before though.
Another day trip from Villa Union leads up into the Altiplano, to Laguna Brava (4000m). The scenery was dazzling, much like on our previous Altiplano trips in Chile. Of course, the challenges of those trips to no-man's-land didn't change either: altitude sickness, freezing winds, weak engine, less and less petrol, and a good chance to get lost in the sweeping cordillera :-)) You name it.
Fortunately we met an attentive tour guide up there, who prevented our car from getting stuck in the sludge of the lagoon. Then he even invited us to join his group. Now on foot, we noticed, why the shoreline was no place for a car. The whole ground felt spongy like a trampoline! Apparently there are immense underground gas pockets up here. We could see bubbles coming up the chimneys, and sometimes you smelled it too. The water inside the chimneys was freezing though, no hot springs... We spent another hour or so, watching the flamingos and those striking colours of the Altiplano, before returning to more human-friendly altitudes.
Fortunately we met an attentive tour guide up there, who prevented our car from getting stuck in the sludge of the lagoon. Then he even invited us to join his group. Now on foot, we noticed, why the shoreline was no place for a car. The whole ground felt spongy like a trampoline! Apparently there are immense underground gas pockets up here. We could see bubbles coming up the chimneys, and sometimes you smelled it too. The water inside the chimneys was freezing though, no hot springs... We spent another hour or so, watching the flamingos and those striking colours of the Altiplano, before returning to more human-friendly altitudes.
