The light in this high Andean mountain town is turning orange. I look out the door of this net cafe in Tilcara and see multi coloured stones and brick work. Also, I have a fair amount of beer in my blood this evening so be forewarned.
Some backstory…
The flight from Trelew was itself uneventful except that we forgot to write down the name and address of the B&B in Buenos Aires we would stay at. We had an 11 hour lay over to deal with. To complicate things further we arrived at B.A. airport at midnight with no cash. The ATM machine would not work so I had to change some U.S. dollars I had at an awful rate. Plus the internet access at the airport was closing so Jen had to plead with the guy to let us in to look up the address. Anyway it turned out fine. We found the place that we would sleep for 7 hrs before returning to the airport. The section of town it was in was cool but the B&B was harsh. We chose it cause is was cheap. Anyway the owner waited up late for us (1:30 am) to let us in. Nice man, kinda sad… the place was so humid and coated in mold it became all about getting in and out as quick as possible. Next morning to the airport and the flight to Salta.
Salta and the B&B we chose where fantastic. Jen booked this part of the trip and she did a great job. The place we slept was beautiful in design and warm in feeling. My sister or Kurt Swinghammer would have approved. It is called Bloomers and I highly recomend it. Salta itself is quiet magical. Lot´s of colonial buildings and people doing their own thing. The main square was filled with young guys practicing Parcour and the band shell had street tango. Cafe´s and lot´s of police so it felt safe. Maybe facist but I couldn´t feel it.
The next morning we rented a car and started out of town towards Bolivia. In choosing to follow signs to the town of Jujuy we took the wrong road by mistake. It turned out that it took us through a mountain pass that was just stunning. Lush and steep and winding roads. The sound of giant cicades buzzing the whole time. The road itself was basically single lane but with two way traffic including trucks and busses. None the matter cause we did just fine. Still as wrong turns go this was one of the best. In the end we found the city we needed to find and the on ramp heading north on Route 9. Up and up we asended as the landscape changed and the mountains enveloped us. Above the treeline then above the … I don´t know, but the Andes started to look like those broken dry mountains of western movies set in Bolivia. Finally this small town of Tilcara. The place we had arranged to stay in was a bust. No one was home. So we found another place. A true adobe made of mud and natural cooling and light. It is nice. We climbed to an ancient pre columbian andean ruin. A large city of sorts. Over run now with giant cactus. Arriving late we only had an hour. An old man with rake found us and told us it was closing. I could not help but think he was raking people off the hill.
Now back in Tilcara…beer and empanades and I am here typing away.
Tomorrow we drive back to Salta. But not before doing a hike in a town called Purmamarca. I will see what hiking feels like at this altitude. A first for me.