Our drive back to San Pedro from El Tatio was filled with amazing landscapes and lots of wildlife.
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| We stopped along the Rio Putana to view wildlife and the volcano. In the mid-ground is a sulfur mine. |
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| Volcan Putana emits smoke from several vents at the summit. |
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| A closer look at the summit (and smoke) of Volcan Putana. |
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| The marshy river had a lot of nesting waterfowl. These appear to be mostly Puna teals, but there may be a few coots in there as well. |
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| We also saw vicuña in this area. |
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| A bit further down the road we came across more vicuñas. |
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| Dark spots on the desert floor, frequently accompanied by lusher vegetation are evidence of vicuña "bathrooms". Vicuñas prefer to contain their urination and defecation in very specific spots. |
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| We also saw a herd of llamas, which are domesticated animals, not wild ones. |
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| Just past the small town of Machuca, we stopped at another pond to view flamingoes. |
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| This pond was much deeper, as you tell by not seeing the flamingoes' legs. These are Andean flamingoes. |
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| An Andean gull was waiting for any food to drop in the parking lot at El Tatio. |
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| Back on Tuesday, we saw a rhea and chicks. It's the male rhea that incubates eggs and cares for chicks until they mature. (Photo courtesy of Sidney Wolff. My rhea photo isn't nearly this good!) |
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