Arica is an oasis surrounded on all sides by the desert. But when I say desert, I’m not talking about Arizona or any other desert I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about miles of sand, sandstone and rock without a single twig of grass, plant, weed or anything alive. We drove through it today, and for 3 hours, we did not see a thing—no plants, no animals, no birds, no people. It’s very very weird.
We were headed to Lake Chungara, one of the highest lakes in the world. It is at 4.500 meters (about 14,000 feet). We started the journey at sea level in Arica, on a road that goes along the beach. Then, over the course of five hours (which was supposed to be three), we reached the high plateau that goes all the way to Bolivia. There, there is rain and cactus and shrubs. With this, comes animals, especially at the lake, where we saw flamingos, llamas, lampacas, and plenty of other birds.
Part of the experience is the altitude, and tour companies take bottles of oxygen for customers to breath. We took only bottles of water and a special blend of herbal tea that the native people use for the altitude. Reaching that altitude so quickly can make you sick, and Juan who
drove us up got some altitude sickness for the first time in his life—mostly it was a headache. The kids, thankfully, were OK, but a combination of the altitude and the long drive made all of us feel sluggish. Here's a llama sticking his head in the window looking to be fed.
Walking slowly at that altitude, you breath fast and hard like you were running at sea level. Running at that altitude—well, you just don’t do it or you are guaranteed to get sick.
