Lunch on the Altiplano

Yesterday we had lunch at 4500 feet on the Chilean Altiplano while watching vacunas and drinking fresh raspberry juice. This is only one of the surreal elements of the day, the other being the landscape made of volcanic ash which reminded us of nothing so much as some of the more elaborate examples of Gaudi architecture, swooping curves  and recesses.  Photos as always to follow. This morning we are walking to a canyon since we need the excercise as we spent a long time yesterday in what they call the van, although this hardly does justice to the comfort within which we travel. This afternoon we are going to explore the village of San Pedro and then tonight we have an astronomy lecture in the private observatory here. Tomorrow we end our stay in Chile and leave for Buenos Aires. Although we are looking forward to this we both feel that Chile will be hard to beat. The people are lovely and the scenery. in all its diversity is incredible. Yesterday I finished Isabel Allende´s House of the Spirits and I must admit that the chapter describing the coup and the years of terror moved me to tears. It is a credit to the country that it seems to have emerged on the other side of all this.