Swimming in the Desert?

After the cold and damp of Bogota it was nice to pull up somewhere warm and dry. We had arrived in the Tatacoa Desert. This was a typical desert, very arid – the odd cactus or two and very little rain. And yes, that photo is of me and Renea, wearing towels and bathing costumes, holding an alcopop and carrying an inflatable pink flamingo. Just ten minutes earlier, we had both been on a half hour walk up and down the dunes, photographing cactus. Turns out that an hotelier has had the bright idea of building a large swimming pool in the middle of the desert. It made for an entertaining couple of hours.

We were camping near an observatory and so after the meal (it was my cook group again) we walked up the road to find the telescope. Good fortune was against us however, as cloud had come in and the chap running the nights event told us that the only thing we would be able to see was the moon. He didn’t want to take our money as we could see the moon with our own eyes!

The following morning we walked amongst the strange desert formations, before heading off towards the southern town of San Augustin. It was the Saturday before Easter weekend and when Paul found a shop selling bunny ears – well we all had to buy a pair. As we pulled into a local beauty spot to take photos of the river (and to have lunch) we certainly got more attention than normal. But when we were driving, people were pointing at the truck, shouting and cars at junctions were stopping in bewilderment. What we didn’t know until later was that both Paul and Danny were sat in the cab with their ears on.