Argentina trip: Day 11 (25 June)

Hey there everyone, so today is another excursion day, so I was again up at 6:00 AM, at 6:15 AM reheating pastries from two days ago for breakfast.

At 7:15 AM I was picked up and we were on our way. There were several people in the vehicle already. At 7:51 our guide Eduardo started with the spiel. Today there was one “guide”, and a separate driver, Ramon Luis. He mentioned that we would be going about 90 minutes before our first stop.

At 8:14 AM I was really feeling that yesterday’s bus had been a bit more comfortable, still at 8:22 AM I tried to sort of sleep, but it didn’t work well.

At 8:36 AM we passed through General Güemes, and then at 9:24 AM made a rest stop at a gas station in San Salvador de Jujuy.

By 9:52 AM I was back on the bus and Eduardo was continuing with his running commentary. Unlike yesterday, things are done in both Spanish and English. Maybe that’s why there is both a driver and a separate guide today.

At 10:13 we passed León. The part near the road looked kind of poor. Nearby I saw that the Rio grande riverbed is very large, but it has almost no water. They said it’s pretty much always like that.

Then at 10:21 AM we started the drive through the cloud barrier

At 10:29 AM we saw a small train which is evidently solar powered. Obviously, it must have a battery in order to get through the cloudy section.

It was great at 10:30 AM to see as we were almost through the cloud barrier. There were now patches of sun.

Then at 10:32 AM And we passed both Tumbaya and the final remains of the cloud barrier. I’m glad that I actually saw it happen this time!

At 10:46 AM we stopped just outside Purmamarca to get a different view of the seven-colored hill. This was a good stop, as it allowed for an unobstructed view, albeit from a distance.

At 10:51 I was back in the vehicle and we continued going upwards. Eduardo said that the isolated, different homes lived in here that we could at times see are almost always lived in by native/first people’s. They don’t own the land, and if they temporarily move away then they no longer have a right to return to the same spot, so in many ways they are trapped here.

At 11:25 AM my head was starting to feel a bit full as we went up, so I asked for a couple of Coco leaves to put in the side of my mouth. Then at 11:39 AM we stopped at the 4170 meter high spot for a picture. I bought some coco candies for 1500 ARS the bag: 15 candies in one bag. Supposedly you are only supposed to take 3 in a day according to what it says on the bag.

Of course at 11:45 AM I got my obligatory photo at the attitude marker.

At 11:51 AM I was again back in the van heading down to Salinas Grandes. The view really was amazing, even from the window of the van.

At 12:01 PM we had to stop as one of the passengers was not feeling well, so it was another opportunity to get outside, but it was a quick stop and we were again on our way at 12:04 PM.

Finally at 12:20 PM we arrived. In order to gain access to the salt flats tourist area we had to pay 2000 ARS cash but that really was a huge bargain as this payment also included the “artistic photo” service, and they really did a good job with these funny pictures. I had fully embraced my tourist identity, so at 12:33 PM I was in one of the several short lines waiting for my turn to get pictures.

By 12:40 PM I was finished with my silly pics and moving on to where there were the evaporation and crystallization pits. Even though it was undoubtedly a bag idea, at 12:49 PM, I scooped some of the salt crystals which were floating on top of the water and tasted them. You guessed it; they were VERY salty!

Then I decided to do some more silly pics on my own. Really being here was like being in another world. It was just amazing.

At 1:14 PM we were back in the van. Eduardo said that the local people working here taking the pictures couldn’t do it a long time because the salt in the air affected their eyes and lungs over time. It’s just a temporary job. Most of the people here don’t have cellphones themselves, since they are useless here as communication devices (no signal), but they learn how to use the camera function in order to take pictures of tourists.

At 1:20 PM we had to depart.

At 1:48 PM we had a quick five-minute photo stop and then continued on our way back to Purmamarca.

Then at 2:31 PM we arrived at Purmamarca. I was happy to learn that today we would have two hours here.

While I did want to explore, I also wanted a proper lunch today, so at 2:38 PM I went into the recommended restaurant and was pleased to see they had a live singer who was really quite good.

My food arrived at 3:01 PM and shortly thereafter I noticed this little boy who was just enchanted by the music and kept creeping up until the singer invited him to play the drum. I decided to give the singer a 2000 ARS tip which seemed to me the maximum that others were giving. He was a very good singer and also a good sport with the little kid.

I was very happy with my Cazuela de cordero. I’m sure I could have eaten for less, but the singer was very good and it was especially fun when the little boy kept wanting to join him.

Then at 3:39 PM I finished and paid 11500 ARS with my Indian credit card (795 INR – 9.53 USD). After departing at 3:53 PM I soon went into the Santa Rosa de Lima church. I loved the sound of the birds outside. It was very rustic inside. I liked it.

At 4:00 PM I left the church to wander around a bit more. There were handicraft shops, eateries and lodging places everywhere. Amazingly, I was actually even tempted to buy some things. I wondered what it must be like to grow up in a place like this, so tourism focused but also so perfectly surrounded by the beautiful hills. No doubt similar to how the natural beauty anywhere else is taken for granted and almost forgotten after a short time living in other places, I suspect the same happens here.

At 4:35 PM I was back in the van. I had sort of wanted an empanada rellena, as they looked good, but I reminded myself that I had just eaten and would also want to eat something this evening.

At 5:01 PM we were about to hit the cloud wall again, and just like that at 5:02 PM we were in the clouds again. It was now 5 C outside vs the 26 C that we were in ten minutes ago. Amazing right?

At 5:47 PM we again stopped at a gas station. Here they call bathroom breaks “technical stops – parada técnica) I paid 2980 ARS with my Indian credit card (206 INR – $2.47 USD) for a sweet treat (basically a prepacked Alfajor) and a coca cola zero. I actually wanted a coffee, but this bus while having a much better sound system than yesterday’s, did not have a place to put drinks. . . As such I didn’t fancy juggling a hot cup of coffee.

At 5:55 PM I was once more back in the van, and then at 7:38 PM I had them drop me off near Plaza 9 de Julio where I walked around the area a bit.

At 8:24 PM I decided to eat at Vaca Club located right on Plaza 9 de Julio. At 9:10 PN I asked for the bill. It was 17000 ARS which I paid with my Indian credit card (INR 1167 -$14 USD) and left a cash tip of 1700 ARS. I had eaten pepper beef and a glass of Trapiche Malbec wine.

From there, I walked back to my lodging, but at 9:49 PM I paid 4000 ARS cash for two nice looking, hearty, apple pastries which I planned to eat for breakfast tomorrow, finally arriving at the apartment at 9:52 PM.