 (orig) (info) A view, from a distance, of the town of Putre, situated at 12,000 feet in the Andes of northern Chile. |
 (orig) (info) Some of the domestic llamas and alpacas that were grazing in Lauca |
 (orig) (info) The endangered vicuñas were also present in large numbers in Lauca |
 (orig) (info) More vicuñas |
 (orig) (info) Chungara Lake, situated at almost 15,000 feet, is one of the key landmarks of the park. |
 (orig) (info) In the background is 20,800' Volcan Parincota |
 (orig) (info) The lake is also home to an incredible number of bird species. This, I believe, is an Andean Gull. |
 (orig) (info) Mountains ring the lake |
 (orig) (info) The lake is home to many giant coots, which, to me, seem like a cross between a puffin and a duck. |
 (orig) (info) Another volcano view. Not sure which volcano this is. |
 (orig) (info) The lake is very shallow, and small changes in water level have a drastic effect on surface area. |
 (orig) (info) Volcan Parincota |
 (orig) (info) Guess what...? |
 (orig) (info) I couldn't get that close, but the lake is home to many flamingos |
 (orig) (info) More flamingos. These birds are amazing. It was the first time I'd seen flamingos in the wild, and I was really excited. |
 (orig) (info) The birds, with Parincota in the background |
 (orig) (info) More birds. More volcano. |
 (orig) (info) More vicuñas |
 (orig) (info) Some kind of duck |
 (orig) (info) A vicuña in front of Parincota |
 (orig) (info) It's a long, lonesome road... |
 (orig) (info) This is one of the more beautiful truck routes in the world, I bet. |
 (orig) (info) Another giant coot´s nest |
 (orig) (info) My first try at taking my picture |
 (orig) (info) Another lake+mountains=pretty shot |
 (orig) (info) I think this gives a feel for the amount of bird life on the lake |
 (orig) (info) These were quite common by the roadside |
 (orig) (info) Another shot |
 (orig) (info) Another animal whose name I don't know. It looks like a rabbit, but has long ears and a long tail. |
 (orig) (info) I know, I know. But it was really pretty. |
 (orig) (info) Try number 2 |
 (orig) (info) Try number 3 |
 (orig) (info) Another giant coot's nest |
 (orig) (info) Looking toward the customs control point for the bolivian border |
 (orig) (info) I ran into a pair of swiss birders, who identified all of these flamigos as Chilean Flamingos. |
 (orig) (info) Pretty birds. |
 (orig) (info) More flying |
 (orig) (info) It looks like smoke, but I think it's just a cloud |
 (orig) (info) Something eats the birds |
 (orig) (info) Who says I haven't got anything on Peter Pan! |
 (orig) (info) Another coot. |
 (orig) (info) An adean gull |
 (orig) (info) Another try at getting him in flight |
 (orig) (info) That one actually came out okay |
 (orig) (info) The CONAF refugio, where I camped, and the view |
 (orig) (info) Vicuñas by the refugio |
 (orig) (info) The birders I met had a telescope. This shot is camera -> telescope -> birds. They're biger, but still small. It was better just to look through the telescope. |
 (orig) (info) The sunset was just incredible |
 (orig) (info) sunset |
 (orig) (info) More sunset pictures |
 (orig) (info) Another parincota shot |
 (orig) (info) Parincota |
 (orig) (info) The stars that followed the sunset were equally amazing -- it was just a wonderful night |
 (orig) (info) And the view I had when I woke up. It was *almost* enough to make me not notice the altitude sickness in the morning. :) |
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