Nevados de Putre

It rained heavily all night, but this morning it was slightly better even though the landscape showed the effects of the rain.

This morning at breakfast, I asked Flavio for 10 liters of diesel and if it was possible to drive to the Nevados de Putre and the Rio Llluta in the Altiplano Nord, where there is a canyon. He gave me tips on where to go and what to watch out for, and advised me not to cross the Rio Lluta as it would be dangerous. He said that if I wasn't back by 4 o'clock, he would come look for me...

I set off in good weather and soon understood what Flavio meant by a wet dirt track. The Hilux was quite unstable on the road, if you drive too fast and veer off the road...it's game over. Judging by the wrecks, it has already happened to some...

The mountain road climbed to an impressive 5,250 meters, the view was breathtaking. But I also looked at the microcosm, besides the usual litter, there was still some snow and several hind legs of a sheep or something. It really didn't look like the remains of an animal eaten by predators...

On the other side, I descended to the Rio Lluta on a much better dirt track to the canyon, which resembled the Grand Canyon from a distance, but it was nowhere near as magnificent up close. I did not, in fact, cross the river, especially since there was nothing interesting on the other side. The Chileans in the other Toyota showed that it was possible, although there wasn't much room left...

I walked there and back for an hour and the weather suddenly changed. Fog, rain, visibility barely 10 meters and all on that slippery surface...I had already wondered during the journey why Chileans drive with sunglasses in fog, but it is true that you can see a couple of meters ahead, so I copied it, as well as the habit of driving with hazard lights on in fog, it makes you more visible...Flavio didn't have to come and look for me...

Today wasn't as spectacular, but the peace and quiet is quite nice, although Putre in the rain reminds me of the opening scene of Django with Franco Nero :-)