Southern Altiplano - Bolivia - page 323

flamingos, coconut palms and the steamy tropics. The sight of these pinky-white birds with their black bills and
tails adds yet another color to the already spectacular palette hereabouts.
Flamingos have a complicated and sophisticated system for filtering the foodstuffs from highly alkaline brack-
ish lakes. They filter algae and diatoms from the water by sucking in and vigorously expelling water from the bill
several times per second. The minute particles are caught on fine hairlike protrusions that line the inside of the
mandibles. The suction is created by the thick fleshy tongue, which rests in a groove in the lower mandible and
pumps back and forth like a piston.
The Chilean flamingo reaches heights of just over 1m and has a black-tipped white bill, dirty blue legs, red
knees and salmon-colored plumage. The James flamingo is the smallest of the three species and has dark-red legs
and a yellow-and-black bill. It's locally known as jututu . The Andean flamingo is the largest of the three and has
pink plumage, yellow legs and a yellow-and-black bill.
Environmentalists have been particularly concerned for the birds in recent years, as tourism has affected the
flamingos' breeding. Don't try to creep up to them to get a better photo; above all don't put them to flight or en-
courage any guide that suggests doing this.
ISLA CÁSCARA DE HUEVO
The small 'Eggshell Island' was named for the broken shells of birds' eggs that litter it. It
lies near the southern end of the Salar de Uyuni and is visited mainly to see the strange
patterns of salt crystallization in the area, some of which resemble roses.
AQUAQUIZA
Some agencies now offer a side trip to Aquaquiza, a quinoa-producing village in Nor
Lípez where there's alojamiento (basic accommodation; B$20). The area's attraction,
Gruta de las Galaxias , lies 8km away. Discovered in 2003, Gruta de las Galaxias is a
small two-level grotto full of beautiful petrified algae and corals from the ancient lake.
Part of the same complex is Cueva del Diablo , a cave sacred to the locals with a pre-In-
can cemetery scattered with small chullpas . Note the cross as you enter the cave, marking
where a shepherd girl was found mysteriously dead after seeking protection from a storm
inside the cave. There's a viewpoint at the top to admire the spectacularly desolate scenery
and the petrified cacti.
Between March and December, a B$10 admission is charged for the complex; other-
wise it's free but there's nobody to show you around.
SALAR DE COIPASA
This great 2218-sq-km remote salt desert, northwest of the Salar de Uyuni at an elevation
of 3786m, was part of the same system of prehistoric lakes as the Salar de Uyuni - a sys-
tem that covered the area over 10,000 years ago. The 4WD-only road to the Salar de Coi-