The WOW factor!

So as you may have guessed I have been somewhat underwhelmed by Buenos Aires. Not that is doesn't deserve praise as a diverse cosmopolitan city - it didn't really have any terribly unexpected. It hard to gush over a trip when except for the latitude and longitude it could be Chicago or DC. And I must say Salta had a bit of the same feel - until I got out on the road today.

After finding my way out of Salta and through some very dicing areas the highway narrowed to almost one lane and began to rise into the hill country. It was vert lush and reminded me a lot of the Cormandel Pennisula in New Zealand. Very lush and green with the occassional cow or horse and some small adobe built farms that were harvesting tobacco. After about two hours slipped by the outskirts of the larger and equally squalled city of Jujuy. Now it gets interesting.

As I drove way from Jujuy the skys began to brighten and the lush vegetation to vanish as I began to assend into the mountains. This area is the Andean desert plateau much like the Idaho desert after crossing the Cascades. The people are dark skinned much as you think of Peruvians and there is town after little adobe town running along this river valley. But the biggest part of the show colored mountain and rock formations on both sides of the muddy, dirty rocky river. The colors are amazing - red, green, purple, yellow and brown.

I had quite unknowingly booked a wonderful little room at a small inn in Purmamarca. There is a very small town and an excellent example of a multi colored mountain side surrounding the town. (that's tomorrow)
After checking in and arranging dinner - I set off up the highhway to Tilcera (at this point I am about 175km from Bolivia). Tilcera is a slightly more developed town that some of the others along the way with a tourist infrastructure.

[I've noted that perhaps technology is the worlds common language. It's so interesting in this remote location to see internet and wifi used so frequently as well as small adobe houses with young girls sitting outside texting]

So I wander dusty streets and take in the unique architecture - there are groups of rasta hippies and backpackers and lots of stray dogs - but it is quite friendly place. I have a Quilmes beer, some more empanadas - this time with corn and chicken - and a lomito - which is like a tamale of corn meal and cheese steamed in a corn husk. It is all good and while I eat Bob Dylan and the Beatles blare. (most of the American music that is played in Argentina is 80s pop). I just about had enough and am happy to be returning to nice clean hotel room but want to visit the cemetery. It is the second one today and I presume that due to the rocky ground they are all above ground crypts. I can't help but think of some of the pictures from Haiti - it is all very similar but set against the backdrop of these colored mountains.

Just after arriving back the rains started again. This is actually not the best time to visit because the rains cascading down out of the mountains wash out the roads and cause slides. In many places they divert into one area and then build a concrete spillway across the road and into the river. This appears to be fairly gentle so back to Salta tomorrow a little more circuitous route. And then a guided tour to the south of Salta on Saturday.

[Estancia trip is booked for Wednesday and just booked a
futbol game for Thursday]