We let everyone sleep in until 9:30 and then had an excellent breakfast. No one really wanted to leave the place because it was so nice but we were still half a day behind. So we pulled out at about 11:15 and headed down the east side of the Salar de Atacama. The actual salt flat is quite away out. Eolian sands and some vegetation cover the outer edge. We stopped at Toconao and took a half-hour guided tour. The first stop was an overlook that looked up a ravine, the Valle Jere, that was cut into one of the great ignimbrite sheets from Mio-Pliocene giant rhyolite calderas which are probably sources for many of the tuffs we see in the foreland throughout NW Argentina. We also saw a beautiful natural oasis hidden farther down the ravine. I'll bet the springs emerge at the base of the tuff. We had lunch next to a small, active liparite quarry. Liparite is a rhyolite variety named after Lipari, an Eolian Island North of Sicily that I visited in 2003. Then we headed for Chilean migraciones. We passed through pretty quickly and started our way over Cordillera Occidental via the Paso de Jama. It was an ideal opportunity for techeros so a bunch of us went up on the roof for a spectacular drive past Licancabur volcano. To the south we saw Lascar which erupted within the last year depositing ash on Salta. We could also see Llullullaico, another frequently erupting peak, as well as two other major peaks and numerous lesser or older vents.

It eventually started getting cold as we rose in elevation and the intensity of the sun waned. We went inside at around 12,000' but the road continued up to about 15,000' where it arrives on the Puna. The sun was setting as we crossed into Argentina . Fortunately, customs was straight forward and was over in about 45 minutes.

We drove across the western Puna. I was disappointed that I couldn't see it in the dark. It was still a long way to San Antonio de los Cobres. Between 9:30-10:00 we came upon a roadhouse in the absolute middle of nowhere. We stopped for dinner. The owner was overwhelmed but willing to accommodate us. We ate fairly well.

Angel told me in the middle of the meal that he had called ahead and learned that there was a heavy fog through which he was afraid to drive on the twisty mountain roads. The roadhouse owner could accommodate us so I told him we would stay there. The students were much relieved to learn that they wouldn't have to travel any more.

We gathered our luggage and trudged through the scrub brush to the bunkhouse. I shared a room with four others. I realized that I had no water so Samm, Motley and I went back to the restaurant to get some. A bunch of our people were playing cards. We walked back to the bunkhouse and took in the southern sky, seeing several meteors. I then turned in and was soon asleep. I was happy that the thin mountain air did not give me a headache. No one appeared to beMay 7, 2007p>    

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