Day 850
Desierto Gris
So, when is desert not a desert? When it's the Tatacoa! This area is actually a rainforest which over the years has gradually dried up. The name means Rattlesnake as the area is home to many, plus turtles, alligators, rodents, wildcats, many other snakes, spiders and scorpions, not to mention many birds and stunning cacti. We spotted the cacti, a lizard, plenty of eagles and hundreds of goats, but we didn’t mind missing the others!
What looks like rock is really soft soil. One half, in the area of Cuzco is ochre in colour, caused by the iron deposits in the soil. The other part, Los Hoyos, is grey, but both areas have been formed into weird shapes, deep gullies, and passageways just begging us to explore. At over 330 sq km it’s the second largest arid area in Colombia and one of the hottest. Normally the average temperature is around 33 degrees, we just arrived at a particularly warm time, even the locals were wilting!
Despite the heat, Tom got the big camera out and spent most of our 2 days there trying to capture the magic of this place.
