The altiplano, or high plain, of South America is an amazing and wonderful place. It holds the world's highest navigable lake, Lago Titicaca at 3,810 meters, and the largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni at 9,000 square kilometers. Although I have not had a chance to visit the Salar (the photo is not mine) we went to Lago Titicaca last weekend and I will write more about that later.
The altiplano is the second largest mountain plateau in the world, after that of Tibet, and stretches from northern Argentina to the flat-lands of southern Peru. To the west, and forming the border with Chile lies the Cordillera Occidental - a chain of dormant volcanoes and solfataras (volcanic vents emitting sulfurous gases). To the east lies the much older Cordillera Oriental which enters Bolivia on the north side of Lake Titicaca, extends 
southeastward to approximately 17 degrees south latitude, then broadens and stretches south to the Argentine border. Between the two Cordilleran ranges lies the altiplano, originally a deep rift valley that gradually filled with highly porous sedimentary debris washed down from the peaks. At the southern edge of the altiplano, where Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina meet, is where Geoff works when he isn't in the office. Two weeks ago I went to the field with him and I was awed by it's beauty. 
Because the altiplano is very high, averaging 3600 meters, the light is harsh. I read that the best photographs are taken at sunrise or at sunset but I was only there for two partially cloudy days and the sun was not being very co-operative. The five minute sunset on the first evening was magical:
- I wish it had lasted for ever, and
- I wish I was a better photographer.
I have always loved wide, open spaces and when I arrived in the altiplano I felt comfortable and at home. The sky was electric blue, the clouds were fluffy and white, there were no trees to disturb the horizon, the rocks were brilliantly coloured and there were llamas almost everywhere I looked. What more could I want? Of course if you like trees and misty encounters in a rain forest the altiplano is not for you....... but I could have stayed there for ever.
One of the few crops that is able to grow on the altiplano is quinoa, a distant relative of the North American sagebrush; but more about that later.
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