We were awoken by a man talking loudly on a microphone - it was either a Sunday religious sermon or briefing the runners before the start of a desert marathon - I went for the latter as it was followed by the sound of helicopters. The event was put on by Brazilians who made up most of the runners. As we got back from our morning walk at 1230 we saw some hardy souls finishing......by that time it was really hot. We had to drink a lot to stay hydrated as the Atacama is the driest desert in the world so goodness knows what they needed to drink.
At 0930 we headed off to Guatin valley (or Valley of the Cacti) to walk along the edge of the Valama River. It was full of giant Cardon cacti whose amazing wood was used in earlier times by the pastoralists and also gave me the source of wood I had seen displayed at Awasi. There was a small wren flying in and out of the cacti and pampas grasses as we set off. The walk took us over rocks, saw us clinging to rock walls and going over small waterfalls - all expertly guided as to the best way to negotiate each obstacle. The landscape was unique and made for a great walk. As we emerged onto the hillside, we caught up with another slower group from Explora. Luckily we went right and they went left. We passed historic corrals used by early pastoralists - and sometimes used today - as we headed back to the carpark for a refreshing juice and fruit kebab.
Another afternoon to ourselves - swim first then lunch and a relax before meeting Santiago and driving to see the petroglyphs left by early nomadic inhabitants who would rest their caravans at the site because it gave natural corrals for their animals, a good vantage point for seeing attackers and shelter for themselves in small rocky hollows where they spent their time carving - llamas,monkeys ( probably traded with other merchants) puma, foxes and man amongst other things.
Enroute we saw a heard of Llamas and eventually spied a wild guanaco - too far to get a good picture.
After the well preserved petroglyphs we headed off to rainbow valley to watch the colours change as the sun set. Amazing to see greens ( copper oxide),reds, pinks, whites and browns.
On our return up the river valley we spied a pair of Andean Geese with 5 goslings and a heard of wild donkeys, including a young foal - they were noticeable because of their very dark grey almost black coats.
As we returned there was a haze in the sky which Santiago put down to the windy conditions and the mining activity.
We got back at 2030 so after showering and refreshing ourselves we decided on another reduced meal - starter and desert......still delicious though!