In Chile, I only visited the north, particularly the salt desert of Atacama, with its rich wildlife consisting mostly of birds like Andean flamingoes. As you can see below, thay are very pink, including their legs and toes. This is due to the microscopic shrimp larvae they are eating.
I also visited the volcanic area of the Tatio geysers in Northern Chile at 4200m. It was great fun, but the altitude was a bit difficult to cope with, particularly during the first two days. In other words, it was breathtaking, quite literally. Look at the scenery and judge for yourself :
But the highlight of the trip was Peru, with a visit to Cusco and the Machu Picchu Inca Sanctuary, which was quite impressive in spite of the rain. The sheer size of the site and the grandiose scenery are truly worth the visit. Some say the entrance fees are a rip-off, but I think it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I do recommend to go. Some like to walk up via the Inca trail, and that's what I wanted, but it was raining and the path was extremely slippery, therefore not recommended. Here is a view from the top of the site, and even with the rain, it looks great :
Another highlight of the trip was Lake Titicaca. We stayed for 3 days on a remote island of lake Titicaca. It is amazing to see that people there still live without roads, electricity or running water. The island of Taquile has a very interesting coimmunity of Indians who make clothes and bags with unique patterns which are protected by Unesco. And, most interestingly, there is a geocache on their island, and I wa shappy to introduce our Indian host to the GPS technology, and to geocaching. He was absolutly thrilled that he found a geocache on his island. He would not let go of the GPS as you can see on the picture :
All in all, a memorable trip and lots of memories. A must-do for all travel fans, geocachers or not
