Town of Putre and Beautiful Lauca National Park at the border of Columbia

We went by bus from Arica to Putre, a tiny town located west of Arica at the border of Bolivia. We arrived on a festive day. The people of Putre were celebrating the election of their new mayor! We hired a driver/guide to explore Lauca National park the next day. The scenery was really beautiful and the number of tourists very low.

The trucks transporting goods from Arica to Bolivia came to a stop due to.some road work. We passed all of them on the left side of the road :)) There are so many trucks on this road!

Village of Parinacota

Our guide is having coffee with the locals

The massive Parinacota dormant volcanoe

Lake Chungara

The caves

A few vizcachas! They look like rabbits but there are not rabbits

Toilets "en plein air" behind the house - a step up from "Inca toilets" :))

And always more of my favorite vicunas

First sighting of guanacos - identifiable by their black head. They all look identical, unlike lamas. They live in the wild, like vicunas. No domestication.

And now time to enjoy the local hot springs!

In the evening, dinner at the local restaurant. Christmas is approaching!

"Blessed are the hearts that can bend; 

they shall never be broken"

Albert Camus