If it's Jujuy it must be Utah

I am staying in Salta for five nights to visit the scenery in the Jujuy (pronounced hoo-hooey) province.  Fortunately, Salta is centrally located; unfortunately the distances are quite long, so our daily trips are scheduled to start before 7 in the morning and end after 8 at night.  All of the tours are in Spanish with primarily Argentine tourists.  In general, I can understand about half of what I can hear.

My first trip - to Cachi - was underwhelming.  The highlight was a twenty mile switchback climb over Cuesta del Obispo (the Archbishop’s Slope).  It was one of those amazing feats of engineering with a great view at the top.  Then we descended into the Valle Encantado (Enchanted Valley) where the guide told us we were going to see the biggest cardones in the world.  Since I didn’t know what a cardon was, I had no idea what we were going to see.  But I soon figured it out.

On my second trip the scenery went from good to spectacular.  The Quebrada de los Conchas are red rock mountains with straight up cliffs.  They are so named for the fossils of seashells (conchas) that can be found in them.  It felt like I was in Zion National Park.  And our lunch and shopping stop in Cafayate was much nicer than in Cachi the day before. In Argentina, the national stone is rose quartz and I might have bought a few necklaces. In the Quebradas, the stone is onyx in different colors ... and I might have bought a few.

I was expecting the third day to be the highlight as we were going to Humahuaca to see the famous Quebrada de Humahuaca, a narrow mountain valley with dramatic and colorful mountain formations.   The day did not begin auspiciously.  I was scheduled to be picked up between 5:30 and 6:00 so I dutifully got up at 5:15.  Ugh.  The bus finally arrived at 7:00.  I was not happy.  I could have slept another hour.  Then, after driving for just over an hour, the bus broke down.  We limped into a gas station/mini-mart, where they told us we would wait for an hour or so for another bus.  One hour went by, two hours.  Did I say I was not happy this morning when we were only an hour late?  And I’m the only one who seems to be upset.  I went outside and told our guide we were never going to get to Humahuaca.  Of course we will, he said.  An Argentine woman told me you have to stay positive.  She shrugged her shoulders:  it was a mechanical problem.  What can you do? The bus finally arrived after nearly three hours and we set out for Humahuaca just after noon.  Four hours late.  Seriously?  I figured we would have to turn around sooner than later.

But I calmed down when the spectacular scenery I was expecting began.  The colors of the Quebrada mountains are just amazing. This was one of the views from the window of the bus. The mountains did not seem to be bare rock but looked like they had scattered trees on them. When we got closer, I saw it was the cardones (elephant cactus) that I had seen earlier dotting the hills. Such an unusual landscape.

The tour company had warned us that it was Carnaval this weekend in Jujuy province and we were not making the usual two hour lunch and shopping stop so I thought we might make up some time.  Nope.  They just meant we were going to a different town for our two hour lunch and shopping stop. We went to Purmamarca, a delightful market town full of colorful shops and stalls.  Yes, it is all for the tourists, but I liked it nonetheless.  Did we shorten our stop?  No.  We left Pumamarca at 4:00 and hit stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic from all the people driving to Humahuaca for Carnaval.  I couldn’t believe that we continued to drive north.  At 4:40 I saw a road sign that said 48 kilometers to Humahuaca.  But we were barely moving.  At 5:40 the next sign said 42 kilometers.  Then we came to a complete stop as the road through Tilcara was blocked by a Carnaval parade.  We stopped again in Uquia for another Carnaval event.  Then we stopped for a photo op at the marker for the Tropic of Capricorn.  (Really? We can't skip anything?) At 7:20 I saw another sign that said 11 kilometers to Humahuaca.  We finally arrived around 8:00.

We walked around Humahuaca for a while where Carnaval was in full swing.  The town was rocking.  People paint their faces and wear devil masks and costumes.  There was lots of live and recorded music blaring everywhere and periodic parades.  People also walk around with aerosol cans of something like silly string but it is white confetti.  They spray that and white powder on everyone they walk by. Uncostumed peple paint their faces.

Our guide took us to a restaurant and asked if we wanted to take our food to go on the bus or eat there.  The Argentinos unanimously wanted to stay there and eat.  So we stayed in Humahuaca until after 10.  Since service in restaurants is beyond slow, I had more time to walk around and experience Carnaval.  Typically, the ride to Salta from Humahuaca is three hours. We left Humahuaca around 10 but with the delays of Carnaval …  I was dropped off at my hotel just before 3 AM. My phone and hearing aids had died but fortunately my Kindle had enough charge for the day (and night).

I thought about blowing off my last tour to Grandes Salinas (Big Salt Flats) but, hey, I can sleep when I’m back home.  I was scheduled to be picked up between 6:30 and 7:00, I dutifully got up at 6:00 after three hours sleep, and the bus arrived at … 8:00.  I’m getting the hang of Argentina.  I really did not know where Grandes Salinas was; I thought it was south in the direction of my first two tours, but we went back on the road to the north through the amazing Quebrada.  Well worth the drive.  Also, the colors were more vibrant earlier in the day. This time we drove on another amazing switchback road over a 13,000 mountain.  The views just keep getting better.

I’ve seen other salt flats and mines, and was not expecting much, but it really was fascinating. It was huge!  In one section they let cars drive.  In the main section, people walk around and look at the “swimming pools.”  They cut long narrow holes in the salt to collect rainwater, and then harvest the salt when the water evaporates. The salt flats stretch for miles and look like a giant ice skating rink, but obviously, the surface is solid and tastes like salt. Duh!

After Grandes Salinas, we went back to Purmamarca, the market town I had been to the day before, and the site of the Cerro de Siete Colores (the Hill of Seven Colors).  Since I had already explored the markets and bought more than I should, I found a small, quiet parilla and had one of the best meals I have had in Argentina.  A parilla is a grill, and an authentic parilla is over an open wood burning pit.  This was an authentic parilla.  Also, Carnaval was going on in Purmamarca that day, so I got to see the dancing devils and get sprayed with white powder again.

Traveling with just Argentinos was an interesting experience.  If there had been other Americans on the bus, we would have complained to each other and worked ourselves up over the terrible service.  But no one was upset at the delays or concerned about arriving home six hours late in the middle of the night.  On the plus side, if the bus had not broken down, we would have left  Humahuaca long before dark and I would not have had the chance to see the Carnaval celebrations.  I finally understand how the Argentinos can eat dinner at 9 or 10 at night.  First, they cannot tell the difference between on time and four hours late.  Second, they really mean it when they say “tranquilo” to everything. (Tranquilo means roughly: relax, chill, no worries, hakuna matata.)  And third, they can fall asleep anytime, anywhere.  They all got their sleep on the drive up and the drive back. Outside of Buenos Aires, a lot of shops do close for a couple of hours at midday.

Back in Salta … on my last day I had until 4 before I had to go to the airport to return to Buenos Aires.  Amazingly, there is a free walking tour of Salta every morning, so I signed up.  But there wasn’t much to see because it was … Carnaval … and February 20 … and a Monday.  A triple reason for everything to be closed.  February 20?  It turns out that the famous Battle of Salta in the Argentine war of independence was won by General Belgrano on February 20, 1813. Who knew? So after taking us to one old building, the guide took us to the Gaucho parade that celebrates this historic military victory.  Lots of people dressed us in gaucho clothes and riding horses.  Interestingly, there were several women riding side saddle.

My transport to the airport was scheduled for 4:10 and he came around 4:45.  Tranquilo.  I finally got back to my hotel in Buenos Aires at 10 at night where the streets are packed because … it is Carnaval.  A great time to be in Argentina.  Next I am off to Bariloche, the gateway to the northern part of Patagonia.  It is full of lakes and mountains which I will see on long bus tours.  I wonder how long a 12 hour tour takes in Bariloche.