last images

We had to leave our car at Belen to be repaired... (deep sigh)

We rented a car and went to shoot the beautiful biosphere reservoir of Laguna Blanca and flamingos there.

We returned to Buenos Aires by bus and tomorrow , we leave again, now to Patagonia, so we will be probably not online for a couple of days...

but in next posts, we will start showing Patagonia in the famous and the unknown way

Our friends took us to Antofagasta de la Sierra, where we found a man with a van who would pull our car back to the city. 65 km far at an altitude of 4500 m, and t wasnt that fast job.
The impressive starry night was there, among all stops we had to do becuase the rope this man had was a disaster... twinkling stars to bright our spirit..




finally, we got back to the village, where a mechanic tried to repair it...
He didnt succeed!
Then, an unexpected solution appeared...
the car would be taken inside a truck to a near city, Belen...






meanwhile, we shot some beautiful volcanic landscapes in the nearbies...

The houses were Antofalla village and we found refugee from the storm until the following day.
We found there another car, with Analia and Maxi that needed to stop. We both gave gas oil to the generator of the village............ so that night the 30 inhabitants, our new friends and us , had three hours of electricity

The following day, we departed to Antofagasta de la sierra, following an impressive road






but after making some shots, our friends who were coming with us, noticed a spot of oil at the ground...
the car was broken...

Our last day at Tolar grande began with beautiful light and clouds at the sky...


we shot shapes and lines and with certain melancholy, we left that village.. we had found there not only wonderfull landscapes but also warm souls...


we crossed the Arizaro salt flat, with 1,500 km2 the largest of the Argentine Puna, to go to see the Cono of Arita...







the pastel tones and the huge Salar gave such sense of immensity...

But the wind had begun... and even being almost noon, this was the last photo of the day..
we would get lost, not seeing the road... the GPS showed no tracks and the vision was null...
all of a sudden, when trying to find out what to do, we saw, among the dust , some far houses...

That day, we decided to go to see the Laguna de Santa Maria, about 65 km far from Tolar Grande. a guide from the village, Francisco, accompanied us...

Impressive views and yellowy grass, like flowers, appeared along the two hours needed to reach the lagoon.... we were said it was inhabited by flamingos..



The wind almost didnt allow to get out of the car.....we found only two, with frozen feathers, lying on the lake... some minutes after we shot them, they could hardly walk and then disappeared....


Not possible to shoot much more in the coming back.. cold weather and the wind was getting stronger.. (well, we would really know how a strong wind is, the following day)
but the sun light falling on the mountains, warmed our soul...

PachaMama

we were so lucky!.. that very night, there was a feast, even not the proper day, to offer the Pacha mama, the mother earth...and we were so kindly invited to assist!

the feast began with some words and announcing that the offrends of the previous year,would be unburied and new ones were there to renew the cycle... a hole was made at the right place


we began offrending coca leaves, wine, cigarettes to Pacha mama, throwing them to the hole , and also trying them.... invoking and adding some words, asking mother earth to be benevolent and care about us... ( it would become so real for us some days later!)
young and old, all people celebrated with much passion. faith and warmness... simple wishes from the bottom of their hearts and ours...

the festivity ended buring all, and asking for the good being of all, with the words of the cacique don Julio Cruz ( the community boss).

we arrived at Tolar Grande, a beautiful village in the middle of the Puna.. sand dunes and multicoloured shapes, in pastel tones ...
near the village some amazing minimal lakes of salty water, ojos del mar (sea's eyes) among salines of white and red textures...
we found a group of biologists trying to dive in these eyes, searching for alive bacteries in fossiles, but the salinity didnt allow them to go deeper (locals said it had been Pachamama, forbidding them )
the sun was falling and the tones enhanced their beauty..

but the main beauty of the day was about to come.. deep feelings and the spirit of the people in it.. later, Pachamama feast..

we spent the night at San Antonio de los Cobres and got ready to go on to one of our highlights in the trip... the small village of Tolar Grande...

we crossed this kind of landscapes, with so subtles tones of soil and such soft lines in shapes

red earth to lead our road and also to find it mixed with salt at some salines we crossed through..

this couple was having much fun, rolling in the dust.. (dust we would see more in following days! )

After some days without internet, here we are... we will post now our day from Tilcara to San Antonio de los Cobres, but after that, many things happened..
We participated at a Pachamama feast...we were at remote villages, far from each other not less than 150 km... open heart people , not all day with electricity and so cold weather conditions..
We passed the two last days lost at the Puna, one of the most beautiful and extreme regions of Argentina...
Pachamama, mother earth, was benigne with us, and in the middle of terrible stormwinds, by chance we saw some houses far away; we managed to reach them and saved ourselves of passing the night at the car , – 20 degrees without suitable clothing.
So, more to come..
By now, three views of our road, at Purmamarca... colourful soil

cultivated fields among mountains..



before arriving at Salinas Grandes, a cute trio greeted us....
and then, breathtaking view.. Salinas, huge and impressive..



the day had not ended... this lovely soul watched us, astonished.