25th November 2015. Salar de Atacama, Atacama Desert, Northern Chile.

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We set off to visit three salt lakes high in the Atacama Desert.

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This image was take from the moving bus.  I was struck by the lenticular cloud over the volcano.

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We had stopped and got out of the bus for this one.

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… and the reason was to photograph this vicuña, grazing by the side of the road.

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This image and the next one, we are en route.  I’m not sure whether they were taken from inside or outside the bus.

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And now we have arrived at Salar de Aguas Calientes.

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In other words, the Lake of Warm Waters, presumably due to the volcanoes towering above.

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There was also quite an array of lenticular clouds.

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The area was designated a wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 1996.

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This is windswept foam gathering at the edge of the lake..

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We are at 4,850 metres, or 16,000 feet.

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We are on our way again now, still with lots of spectacular lenticular clouds around.

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I was clearly out of the bus for this one.

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And now we have arrived at Laguna Miscanti.

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We’re a little bit lower here, at 4,140 metres or 13,500 feet.

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The lake is up to ten metres deep.

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It has no surface outflow.

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Looking back at Lago Miscanti, as I walk to Lago Miñiques.

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I didn’t have any problem with the altitude, even with a photographic pack of about 16kg.  No prospect of running, though.  You have to take things a little bit easy.

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This is Laguna Miñiques, at 4,300 metres or 14,000 feet, with Miñiques volcano towering above it.

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On the way back, we stopped at the village of Toconao.  This is a tour bus from a different company, whose passengers were wandering around the town and had been for some years.

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And this is the door of the bell tower.

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