Ok, so here is the second blog instalment to our visit to the Salta and Jujuy provinces. I hope you have been able to see both albums and the previous Salta blog.

The tour bus came to pick us up bright and early and was on time..unheard of! We were still gulping down coffee. We were 2nd into the mini bus and rode around for another 20 mins collecting others until there was 8 in the group. We had an english speaking guide that switched to spanish when necessary for the two people from Buenos Aires. The others were Swiss German and French.

The tour consisted of a day trip to the Quebrada de Humahuaca, an area that is UNESCO world heritage listed and contains landscape with an enormous array of colours, as well as being an indigenous culture hotspot! We were to visit three villages; Purmamarca, Humahuaca and Tilcara. Mark and I were planning to stay the night in Tilcara and return to Salta the next day.

On the drive toward Purmamarca, our first stop, the whole group fell asleep! This didn´t matter too much as it was only highway on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately for us the morning was quite overcast which meant the landscape didn´t contrast as well with the grey clouds.

The village of Purmamarca sits under the Cerro de los Siete (Hill of Seven Colours). The rich tapestry of colours is hard to believe exist given the stark ranges. There is a central plaza in this village that is surrounded by ochre adobe houses and artesan stalls selling indigenous wares. Apparently the best times of day for witnessing the range of colours on the mountains is morning and evening. There is a 3km walk that you can do around the cerro (hill) but being part of a tour we couldn´t take off.

From Purmamarca we took the bus to Humahuaca. This is the Quebrada´s largest village and it has a larger central plaza with the Iglesia de la Candelaria, built in 1641. There is also a town hall that is famous for its clocktower, where at midday each day a lifesize figure of San Francisco Solano comes out to deliver a benediction. I had no idea what we were looking at at the time! All I could think was that the clock at Melbourne Central was more festive on the hour!

We had lunch in Humahuaca and Mark and I again found empanada´s and humitas. I think an obsession is developing. We found the Monumento a la Independcia which was produced by a local sculptor, Ernesto Soto Avendaño. It is huge and is at the top of a lot of steps. We climbed to the top and it was the first time we noticed the altitude (2989mts) affecting our ability to breathe. Thankfully the sun came out for the afternoon too.

Our next stop was the village of Tilcara. Before we went to the centre we went to a place on the outskirts called Pucará. This is a reconstructed pre-Columbian fort that held vantage points over both directions of the river and valley. It dates back to between the 11th and 15th centuries and was reconstructed in the 1950´s. The small huts were built for people no taller than me! There were some amazing views from its peak and we enjoyed some of the gigantic cacti we found there also.

We left our tour group once we entered the centre of Tilcara. The hill to our hostel was quite steep and with our packs on proved difficult. Tilcara is 2461mts above sea level. We had tried to make a reservation at Hostel Malka but they didn´t respond. Taking a risk we just rocked up and were greeted by two very relaxed hippies that weren´t at all concerned about anything! There were still rooms left and so we were happy too.

We went into the village before dinner and had a look around. This is where I observed more dogs than people. This didn´t bother me in the slightest but it still continues to fascinate me how many dogs there are in Argentina. We found a market packing up its stalls (dammit) and a small marching band practicing through the streets. We found a great restaurant where we enjoyed some great northern food, although haven´t had to partake in llama or alpaca just yet..phew.

The next day we woke to blue skies and a fantastic view over the mountains where the colours seemed even more vibrant, just beautiful. We packed up and caught a taxi to the bus stop where our bus back to Salta was departing at midday. I think I mentioned this in the previous blog but 3 hours later we were eventually on the road!

This was our last stop in Argentina.....what a fantastic country. It has truly exceeded all expectations and it would be great if we could return here one day. There is still so much more to see....

Stay tuned for the next blog when I cross the border to Bolivia in my pyjama´s!

much love,

Jac and Mark xx