Who's idea was it to come here? San Francisco, population 500 (not including free-roaming chickens, hens, pigs, dogs, horses, goats etc... I though it would be a small commercialized town but in fact it was a small settlement in the middle of a freezing cold jungle! Fernando, the guy who runs our hostel in Jujuy, advised us of some remote hot springs that not many tourist go to which you can only get to by hiking for 2 hours from San Fran. Myself, Niki and three Argentine guys from Buenos Aires province headed on what would be a real boys-own adventure. At 5am we awoke and set off for the two hour bus journey from Jujuy to Libertador. Once at Libertador we got on the only 'bus' of the day to San Francisco. I was sitting next to a bag of onions and some potatos! The journey was nothing short of horrific! We raced along dirt tracks which cling to the edge of the mountainside. The bus was an old American antique with windows that kept falling open - cold! After almost three hours we arrived in the jungle 'village' of San Francisco. It has about 100 houses! The hostel owner was also the teacher at the school so we had to wait for the end of classes before we could get into the rooms! To pass the time we ate dinner at someones house! After checking in, we went to back to the house for dinner - bizarre! All the food was especially tasty! That night myself, Niki and the three Argentine guys (Gaston, Leo and Pedro) played cards and drank wine for warmth! The next day would prove to be the hardest day of my life! We awoke at 7am and met our guide, Miguel. He only had one eye which was not too encouraging! He lead us through the jungle for two hours until we reached the hot springs. The last 15 minutes were the hardest - clambering down a cliff edge before the final effort - absailing down the sheer drop to the springs! Any slip and you would certainly die! Once at the springs, the five of us took it in turns to dive in off a rock before succumbing to the horrific egg smell which came from the pools. After lunch, we headed back to the village. It took three hours as it was all uphill. We used the rope to drag ourselves up the cliff and then ruined our calves to get back to the top of the mountain. On the way we saw bright green parrots, monkeys and other jungle wildlife. Once back in town, we got the only bus back to Libertador. On board was a drunk indigenous man who spent the three hour journey either sleeping whilst standing or pestering the driver whilst necking beer and chewing coca leaves with sodium (Chewing coca leaves helps with altitude sickness). Once we were down on flat land, the driver got out of his seat and let the drunk guy drive the bus! Needless to say, all the passegers were watching cautiously! I just can't put into words how different life is out here - I have not even reached Bolivia yet! After arriving back in Libertador we got the bus back to Jujuy where the five of us had to share a hotel room as the hostels were full. Next, back over the Andes for another dose of expensive Chile, the Atacama Desert to be exact.