Parque nevado 3 cruces, Chile
We leave in the early morning from sea level and drive up to 4,000m in just a few hours. At some point after Copiapo we enter a dirt road and suddenly things start going uphill. The road takes frequent turns as strange rock formations reveal themselves on the left and right, we slalom our way up the mountain. They formations vary strongly in colour, type of rock and patterns. Igu has not seen anything like this before and is stunned with the evil mountain revealing itself as it shows its dark face. In between all the dryness there are some miserable little streams, but then even a few green patches: Grass grows and some crazy farmers are even trying to grow something here. There is a little posada, a few horses and at some point we are surprised to witness a herd of 30 goats being driven by a lonely shepherd and his dog. Who would choose this place for his grazing goats? Our little Suzuki Jimny gets a bit tired, which I initially suspect is due to overheating, but is actually insufficient oxygen for the combustion engine - even the car can’t breathe properly at this altitude. After a long drive suddenly we reach a plateau and booom: The Laguna Santa Rosa, surrounded by odd and beautiful mountains: 3 peaks with a bit of snow on top (apparently the 3 cruzes), and many others. We will soon learn that a whole bunch of them are over 6,000 meters and are typically used to train for Ojos del salado. Chileˋs highest mountain and the worldˋs highest volcano at over 7,000m. While we are stunned at this beauty, once we leave the car we also notice a strong wind, which is quickly getting colder. While we are looking for the best option to camp for the night (all of them are terrible) we remember driving by a little hut earlier. Itˋs a refugio, and apparently abandoned. Through the windows we see some ready made comfy beds waiting for us. The door is locked, so we slide open a window and enter the magical palace. Just before unpacking Igu suggests to walk by the adjacent hut which said administration to check none else is there. We go and look and call and knock, nothing. Only after trying again do 2 young guys emerge - they must be going crazy up here, since they thought our knocking was imaginary. They are lovely to let us sleep in the guide room. The sun has now set and very soon, it gets extremely cold. I am talking like 1 degree, with strong wind. We put on all our clothes and get into our sub-zero sleeping bags. This is the first time I really appreciate it. The feathers and especially the possibility to really wrap your entire body into it, zipping it shut so much only your face sticks out is critical to survival. Igu even breathes into her bag to keep it warmer. Nevertheless, we just ascended 4000m and now the altitude sets in. We drink lots of water and eat light, but both have weird and intense dreams in this long night. In one I imagine picking a fist fight with a former board member and in the other me and my brother are dodging lions in the African savanna. Slowly we get our bones together in the morning. The sun is up and a line of 15 flamingos can be seen in the Laguna Rosa right in front of us. They are pretty chilled (normally they scare off) and couldn’t care less: There is the James Flamingo, Andean and Chilean. We have some debate about which is which. The lagoon has different colors from watery to white Salar, to some oozy green with dark bushes - this is where the ducks hang out and build funny floating nests that are then sometimes inhabitates by the bullying Andean seagull laying it’s own eggs there. We drive on to see the Salar of Maricunga. This is really odd as we see it shining on our left, mixing in with the Fata Morgana effects to appear like a sparkling flowing lake of whiteness. We drive off the road and toward it, but we never get closer as with each part we drive it just moves away from us. Only after about 500 meters we look down and notice the salt flat is actually completely dry and we are right in the middle of it. Time for a picknick.
