we had in fact arrived at la reserva nacional los flamencos, a preserve meant to protect the flamingos (woo!) that are native to the lagunas that dot the salar (who knew, flamingos are desert creatures?) so we walked from the bus along paths of salt (literally, i tasted it) with crackly crusty-looking salt rocks surrounding us on all sides as far as the eye can see until we came to the main lagoon where there were flamingos galore. i felt like i was at the zoo, because we were that close to them, but in reality it was so much cooler because we were seeing them in their natural habitat.
in fact, we had arrived directly in the midst of 'marching' season for the flamingo crew. this is the time of year when the flamingos perform their flirting/courtship rituals, called the marching dance, which basically involves strutting back and forth in a very orderly line and squawking a great deal in a tone that reminded me of a cross between a seagull and a seal. fun flamingo fact: once flamingos choose their mates, they are together for life. it was a wonderfully content morning just sitting observing the quirks of the flamingos and the immensity of their home. other inhabitants of the lagunas: random other birds whose cool-factor was entirely eclipsed by that of the flamingos, millions of plankton-esque creatures that the flamingos eat, and neat lizards that seemed to dart out from every salt rock.
on our way back to san pedro we stopped at the pueblo of toconao, an indigenous village with a grand total of 550 inhabitants (not including llamas). we saw the iglesia with its traditional door of cactus wood, the typical means of construction of straw and volcanic rock, and the irrigation system of the city's orchards: a series of interconnected canals that stem from the nearest quebrada (gorge that runs down from high in the andes) and wind their way throughout the town. water only flows to a few orchards at a time due to its scarcity, and the raising and lowering of metal 'doors' in the canals control which way the water flows. the canals were very picturesque, it reminded me of walking in georgetown along the canal with the nice path alongside and trees overhead (however there were no baked and wired cupcakes to be found in toconao, bummer :) ).
our last stop in toconao was the house of a very welcoming abuela. the front room of her house serves as a small shop where she sells the hand-woven products she makes. if you go out the back door you find her loom, made of wood and yarn in a beautifully intricate set-up, placed under a drapery so she can work in shade.
in the backyard are her llamas (i saw three, i believe she owned five) whose wool she uses to weave. i bought a sweater made from the wool of the individual below, handwoven on a wooden loom, that is the softest most comfortable thing i have possibly ever owned (it is going to be extremely difficult not to wear it every single day), all for the equivalent of $21 USD. amazing.
upon arrival back in san pedro we went hunting for an empanada for lunch. unfortunately the delicious tomato-cheese-basil ones from friday's dinner weren't ready yet. however this turned out to be good luck as well because on our search for alternate empanadas we stumbled across a religious celebration and parade taking place in the plaza central. we arrived at the very tail end of the priest's speech so i have zero idea about the reason for the festivities, but i was certainly able to enjoy the live music, confetti, dancers, and furrily-costumed entertainers that made up the small parade. everything was in bright vibrant colors and large numbers of locals were out to share the excitement so it was a treat to share the experience with them.
having gotten caught up in the fun of the plaza central i had to dash over to meet the rest of the group to head off for sandboarding. sandboarding= snowboarding, except on a large sand dune instead of snow, except there are no chairlifts so you have to trudge back up the dune after each run, except there is no real way to turn so you just try and balance upright as you careen straight down the slope, except you keep finding sand in various body crevices for the next three days (and counting) because falling is the only way of stopping/you are bound to fall at least once anyway, except done in only socks because after one run your shoes have so much sand in them that your feet no longer fit. in other words, SO FUN! an entirely unique experience that gave me the energy to trudge back up the dune for another run no matter how many times i'd done it. our group had its fair share of epic wipeouts (the kind where you go headfirst over the front of your board, ouch), but everyone emerged unscathed, albeit extremely sandy. the backdrop of la cordillera de la sal and the intermittent sand dunes was equally as impacting as the snow-capped andes that surrounded me on my ski trip here, i made sure to take a second to look around and take it all in.
we booked it back from the sandboard rental spot to have time for one last dip in the pool before claudio had a heart attack about our consistent lateness to his specified bus-boarding times. in the end we all made it onto the bus, sand-free (almost) only ten minutes behind schedule to head for the airport and our plane home.
all in all, absolutely incredible weekend- i can't wait to travel some more!!
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