Salinas and Aguada Blanca Nat'l Reserve

We took a day trip up (literally - it was at >14k feet!) To Salinas and Aguada Blanca Nat'l Reserve. Very international group, and we became friends with a guy from Paris who spoke great English and virtually no Spanish, and a couple of young ladies from Lima- one spoke pretty good English, one none. The day was fun: we stopped at Mirador viewpoint to see the 3 volcanoes surrounding Arequipa: the iconic and still active Misti, the 19,000 feet tall Chachani and Pichu Pichu, followed by a simple breakfast at a small local place en route (where the guide was strongly recommending coca leaf tea ( the leaves were on the table) to combat the effects of altitude. Then UP! The Reserve itself was stunningly beautiful...and I got to see flamingos!! 🦩Most have migrated, but there were still quite a few stragglers. We also saw 3 types of camelids: vicunuas (wild), alpaca and llama (domesticated). The site was gorgeous.Read more