Bolivia – Laguna Blanca and the Sol de Mañana Geyser Field
With jet lag it was a bit stressful to drive on across the Bolivian border into the highlands on the very first morning after arriving in the Atacama Desert. We were soon above 5,000 metres, and luckily our circulation coped well, unlike that of the other passengers in the car. We made our first longer stop at Laguna Blanca, then continued through the beautiful highlands to the Sol de Mañana geyser field, around two square kilometres in size. Of course the drone couldn’t be left behind on this trip, and here in particular it gave me some spectacular views.
At night another speciality of this dry region revealed itself: an impressive starry sky with an extremely clear view of the Milky Way, the like of which I had perhaps only experienced in Tibet before. And the following nights got even better. Laguna Blanca lies at 4,350 metres at the foot of Licancabur, separated from Laguna Verde only by a narrow strip of land; its white colour comes from the minerals in the water. Sol de Mañana, with its fumaroles, hot springs and mud pools, lies even higher, at around 4,900 metres – both within the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve.
Here are the pictures from our first day:
A gravel road the morning after we arrived, the sign pointing to Paso Jama and Hito Cajón.Two llamas on the bare gravel plain, a snowy peak on the horizon.Off-road vehicles in the snow, the sun dazzling above the mountains.A barrier, a red truck and a queue outside Migración Bolivia.A stone hut on the white plain, a red-brown mountain behind.A rusty bus in the snow, seen twice.The Laguna Blanca mirrors the snowy mountains, yellow grass on the shore.Algae in the shallows and the mountain reflection of the Laguna Blanca.Ochre and rust-red slopes with patches of snow – the beautiful highlands.A wide sandy plain with white streaks under a deep blue sky.Turquoise water and a white rim – the Laguna Blanca at the foot of Licancabur.A white crust with a dark island – the colour comes from the minerals in the water.Greenish channels run through the white crust.Brown summits with streaks of snow above the sandy plateau.Tyre tracks in the ochre, patchy white crust in between.The track along the shore of the Laguna Blanca, snowy mountains on the horizon.An oval white island in the pale green water of the Laguna Blanca.A gravel track beside the white crust at the edge of the lagoon.Through the windscreen: the track between banks of snow.Thick clouds of steam above pale mineral mounds – the Sol de Mañana geyser field.A silhouette in the steam, the sun above.Mud pots and steam, the shadows of visitors in between.A dense field of mud pots, white crust at the top.Tracks, pools and white patches across the Sol de Mañana field.At night the Milky Way stands steep above the gravel track.The Milky Way arching over the horizon – as clear as perhaps only in Tibet before.
