Andes, Deserts & Moais

A special custom-concept tour by Causana Viajes

LA ESCALERA A Journey through space & time

From 30.000 feet the sight of the Cordillera de los Andes was magnificent. The airplane window framed some snowy peaks far away, to the west. No matter the altitude, the enormousness of the mountains drew a dim smile on my face, anticipating the fact that I would be there. The journey soon would bring me through windings trails to the clouds. A climb towards an enormous, colossal, gigantic “Escalera” (ladder), through different regions and ecosystems; from the humid cloud forest, across the high Puna plateau, to the mighty Andes where the endless high Andean deserts, and the Andean volcanoes rule. A geographical ladder going up and down in this remote South American region, were Argentina, Chile and Bolivia share a geography that ignores political boundaries. Were nature imposes its rules with irreverent will. Several times, similar journeys shook my soul and my heart. And every new trip, every experience was unique.

Audrey Benedict, Director of Cloud Ridge Naturalist wrote about the trip:

"...I'l focus on only one of the special highlights of this past years Cloud Ridge trip to northwest Argentina cactus deserts, Yungas cloud forests, and alpine highlands/puna, northern Chile ,the Atacama Desert and Lauca National Park, and a 2,300 mile long flight to the remote outpost of Easter Island. Much of the trip followed the ancient road of the Incas "the Camino Inca" over the Andes and was especially rich in terms of the archeological areas we visited, which included not only the extraordinary stone masonry 'reminiscent of Chaco Canyon* of the ancient Inca-ages but also visits to museums where we saw the perfectly preserved, tapestry wrapped pre-Inca mummies 'mostly children' that were once placed as offerings to the Gods on the highest peaks of the Andes. The scenery, botanical treasures, and wildlife were amazing! My personal favorites were the families of vicunas -tiny cousins of the guanaco and the llama-,the tiny vicuna 'kids' played fighting with each other while the long-eared, rabbit-like vizcachas peered down at us from their rocky strongholds. We crossed over the Andes at nearly 16,000 feet and wound our way down into the Atacama, undeniably the driest desert in theWorld. The landscape was surreal-massive salt flats 'where salt was actualy being "harvested", vast lagoons dotted with salmon-pink flamingos, and magical canyons eroded from crystaline gypsum. It's diffcult to even describe the power of a visit to Easter Island. I´m sure that some of you grew up dreaming, as I did, about Thor Heyerdahl!s reed raft, Kon-Tiki, making the same journey that the ancient Polynesians must have made to the island at around 900 A.D. Though you can look at endless pictures in books, absolutely nothing prepares you for the huge stone "moai"statues, the towering stone sculptures carved from basaltic lava that dominate the island. The largest of these statues is 70 feet tall and weighs about 270 tons! The island almost reverberates with tragedy, the modern analogs in today's world daunting in their complexity.The selection of pictures on the next page are just a sampling of all we saw. Sheer magic...!"

Enjoy our next trip March 12th to March 26th 2010

Easter Island extension ends March 30