Flamingos are not at all like men

Flamingos are not at all like men: they are monogamous and reproduce just once a year. Tour guide Alan shared this fun fact and many others (flamingos spend 18 hours eating daily) on our nine hour tour today.

Yes, nine. We were picked up from our hostel just after 8 a.m. and pleased to see many familiar faces. About a third of our tour was the same - a French girl and her parents, a Brazilian gay couple, and a Brazilian woman with a broken arm... We felt we'd all be best friends by the end of the day.

Some itinerary notes:
1) Toconao, town of 1000 with tall cacti. 2) Salt flats with brine shrimp and flamingos 3) Socaire, town of 120 with Inca terraced farms and a really old church. 4) Lagunas altiplanicos with vicuñas, which look like awkward llamas - as if llamas aren't awkward enough.

To continue expounding on the last stop, envision clear deep blue lagoons that come out of nowhere, framed by red volcanic mountains and hills covered in a bright yellow Shrubberies. Off the lagoon, spiraling columns of steam whirled about, giving some excitement to a freezing afternoon at 5,000 meters up. We took a lot of jumping pictures with our gay couple friends. They have a much nicer camera and are from a place called Florianopolis, which has a lot of flowers, but is actually named after a dictator. We also befriended a British lawyer traveling alone, giving us further hope that this is far from the last of our 'young and free' days.

After four stops, we settled back in Socaire for lunch. The menu include a delicious vegetable stew followed by - yes, you totally guessed it - llama meat. It just looked like chunky stew and I had no desire to eat something I pet this morning. I got a salty omelette with carrot shreds, and the purplest potato I'd ever seen. We washed the meal down with mango juice. Our bread basket buddies were a Puerto Rican couple who work for the U.S. embassy in Chile. That job comes with a luxury apartment and a company driver. Oh, to be bilingual.

On the way home, we paused on an optical illusion road. The driver cut the engine and we appeared to roll up a hill. minerals and tectonic plates can trick the eye. What appears to be up is really down. I guess you can't believe it until you see it, but you have to look twice. I read mixed reviews online about this tour company but cool surprises in our itinerary and Alan's ability to share extensive geological, ecological and anthropological histories everywhere is very impressive.

Kate made fishy faces on the way home for a good several minutes. She's my Highway DJ - there is no speed limit in several areas and otherwise, you're off-roading. Which is often. We listened to a lot of Taylor Swift and discussed the intense relatability of her latest hit. 'I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22...' We also discussed our ideal Dillo Day lineup - some part of us can't wait to get back to Evanston...

But, for now, we're thinking of canceling tomorrow's salt lake swimming trip in favor of horseback riding in ruins and sandboarding off sandcliffs (it's safe, Mom, I promise!).

Like the little chunky kid in Up, "Adventure is out there!"