The title of this entry is rather misleading. We actually went on a car excursion that for the first part at least, followed the route of the famed Train to the Clouds, which starts in Salta and ends up in the Andes close to the Chilean border. The construction of the rail line was clearly a significant engineering feat with many obstacles to be overcome on its route. As with the previous trip to the Andes, we were treated to some breathtaking scenery as the road wound along the river gorge and then up into the Andean mountains. We turned off the rail route at the small mining town of St Antonio de Los Cobres, and headed out over the Alti Plano on a dirt track road that seemed to be in constant danger of being washed away by the occasional heavy rains that come at this time of year. Not much to see in this virtualy deserted plain other than a few wandering llamas and vicunias. Eventually we reached our ultimate destination for the day, the salt lake of Grandes Salinas. This is a truly spectacular sight, with an almost endless expanse of glistening white salt stretching out in all directions. I wish that I was better able to capture the scene photographically.
In the evening we ended up in the village of Purmamaca, in a charming boutique hotel nestling at the base of the Seven Coloured Mountain for which the village is famous, and, to my mind at least, resembling a Hobbit house. As with the previous evening, we were treated to a peña performance at a local restaurant, with, inevitably, llama steak on the menu.
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