Humuaca and its many surrounding natural wonders — Humahuaca, Argentina
We had a really early start to the day, as we had to rush back to the city to go on our next tour and to make things worse, we both woke up sore! Guillermo gave us some breakfast and then we were on the road again. It was still dark, so as we were approaching the city, we saw all the city lights again! We said our goodbyes and shortly after the next tour bus arrived. This was much bigger and a lot more people, but it was comfortable. Towards the start of the trip we stopped to get some water and they recommended we get some cocoa leaves to help with altitude, as we would be going as high as 3000m. We then had a lesson on how to use these, namely by breaking the stalk off, stacking about 10-20 leaves on top of each other and then packing them into a tight bunch/ball, before stuffing that at the back of your mouth, wedged between your gums and your teeth. You are not supposed to chew them as this can act as a laxative! So we were careful. The first stop was a gorgeous view of a rock formation with about seven different coloured layers of rock. Each layer and colour represents a different era and time of the earth's development. It's really special seeing how the world developed and how young people are compared to the world. Then we drove a bit further to a little town with beautiful views of the valley and an ancient church, dating back to the 17thC. In particular we liked the ceiling inside, which was made of cactus wood. I didn't even know cactus could be a wood, I thought it was a plant with nothing inside. Ignorant little me. We also had a look around some of the markets in the main square, which were filled with lots of colourful stalls, it's obvious that we are getting close to the Bolivian border, as the colours and souvenirs resemble the Bolivian culture more. Chris bought a new hat and I refrained this time :) We hopped back on the bus and after a short ride we stopped at an ancient archeological site, the Fortress of Tilcara, which was discovered after two guys noticed a very concentrated cluster of cacti. When they started digging, they found lots of remainders of clay pots and ancient walls from former houses. The ruins are from the Inca period, as the empire stretched as far as Argentina (they think this site was destroyed when the Spanish occupation started in 1594). This site has now been partially restored, so that you can see what the houses and life would have been like back in the days. There were so many ruins, huge - absolutely huge- cacti and a stunning view from the top! Now, a new pyramid at the top commemorates the two guys, who discovered the site and did the most work, but it is also above the spot, where the main ceremonies would have been held back during the Inca period. As we were driving, there were a lot of cacti in the mountains and the guide explained that when the Spaniards came to chase out the indigenous people, these dressed some cacti in human clothes on the mountain, to make out as if he had a bigger army. From there, we drove to Humuaca, an ancient town with a beautiful statue on top of a hill and huge steps leading up to it. There was also another ancient church, also dating back to the 16thC, which was very impressive! It was a very romantic and relaxed and we enjoyed walking through it. When we got back to the designated bus stop at the right hour, the bus wasn't there and there were no people around. I panicked a bit, thinking that it had left without us with most of our luggage still on there. But it was just late and as most people had been on a Spanish speaking city tour, they all arrived in a group shortly after. This was one of the last stop of the day, but we did hop out of the car one more time to look at a beautiful rock formation with a graveyard overlooking the valley. We also explored a church, where the jesuits had taught the indigenous people to paint beautiful portraits and some original artworks from the 16thC remained. As we walked into the church, the guide also showed us a key, which was the first and original silver key from the period the church was built, so some 400 years old. It was in perfect condition and very impressive! The last stop of the day was the capital of the region, called San Salvador de Jujuy - as the guide said, there wasn't too much to see, apart from the very first flag of Argentina. After a quick coffee we headed back to Salta and arrived back in time for dinner. We went to the main square and had a pizza, as the place had a nice wood oven and we saw one of the chefs making fresh dough. The pizza was nice and thin, however there was about a kilo of cheese on it - they love their cheese and salt in this country!!!! Everything is covered in both and I'm pretty sure their hearts and arteries aren't too thankful for it... We had a bit of wine to help us sleep later and headed to the station for our night coach.