Suspended effortlessly and drifting in a lake surrounded by the mesmerizing Andes and desert, it almost felt like a dream. The Laguna Cejar is another quirky place in the middle of the Salar de Atacama with 40% salt content, so if you attempt to swim in it you will float, just like in the Dead Sea. It has actually a higher salt content than the Dead sea, which has about 33.7% salt. Oddly, the water was freezing near the surface but warm closer to the bottom and I later found out from my guide that it was due to the very high lithium contents. After rinsing off, we drove to nearby Ojos del Salar - two perfectly round sink holes with fresh water. It was too cold to swim by then but they made quite good photos with the Andes.
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Saving the best for the last, the finale of my Atacama Day 3 tour was the surreal Tebenquiche salt lake. The water was perfectly still and just about a couple of inches high over the salt pan, creating one of the most breathtaking reflection scenery I have ever seen. Tourists amused themselves by posing on the salt flat to take reflecting photos and soon I found myself doing the same. As the sun set, the mountain range incredibly shed shades of scarlet, gold, orange then purple producing spectacular reflection photography opportunities. What a place to drink pisco sour and watch the sun down... what a place.
