Howard Johnson Plaza Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy

... and one lens shattered. Frustrated, I went to withdraw money and the ATM decided to KEEP my debit card...that was it, I was downright ******.

Sophie was supportive, despite my curtness, as I calmed down over hot chocolate and a much needed empanada. We discussed our options and decided to go with the a nice woman who offered a private room for $6.50 each. Hot water, internet, a communal kitchen, and a complimentary taxi ...

... tenuously-given names - like The Frog, The Ampitheatre, The Devil's Throat etc. They were truly amazing and such vivid colours.

As sunset drew closer we headed back to our old hostel in Salta, where we were greeted by the cheeky grin of little Enzo who came out to help us unpack the car. After hooking us up with an en-suite fit room for 40pesos each, he ordered us an epic pizza with egg, meat, cheese and thousand island dressing which was awesome after our long drive.

San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina jmwaters

... myself, let alone anyone who might read this. The trouble began in Chile.



Upon arrival back in Salta we were informed in the most serious of voices by our host mother, Maria that our trip to Chile was "un problema muy grave". My first reaction was apology and of course bemusement at such a ridiculous over reaction to a simple misunderstanding and breakdown in communication with Codesa school. But a simple telling off was not going to be the end ...

The Lonely Planet tells me that as you move up closer to Bolivia, San Salvador de Jujuy (pronounced Hu-Huy) is where you start to see and feel the proximity. You aint kidding buster!. Arriving in a bus terminal that would disgrace an early 20th century South American Third World Country, I was plunged into a cacophony of colours, noises, sights and smells. The throngs of people sitting on sacks, peddling strange looking foods and generally sitting ...

Cloudy forests Parque Nacional Calilegua After Cafayate we started to make our way towards Calilegua national park. A preserved area of yungas cloud forest, 1 million hectares, that rises above the clouds into the andes. The area we were in was at around 2,600 meters and is said to be home to 40% of the bird species in Argentina, as well as many mammals, an of course insects. There wasn´t much info on getting there but we gradually made it ...

... Who knew!?). As with Cordoba, II could have stayed longer in Tucuman and surrounding area, but, silly me, I did not check distances in Argentina online (insert a Homer Simpson "Doh" here and there). And, of course, you ask Argentineans how long a bus ride is and they tell you it's three hours, when it's really like nine! So time was running out. My next stop was Salta. No, not Salto, but Salta. I had been overhearing people speak of this place ...

... for no reason at all .... it had only been 10pm, not 11. Oh no. No wonder she was shocked by my diatribe. Needless to say, that afternoon I made an effort to apologise for my rudeness (in Spanish, I might add) and we were soon friends again. But I made sure that my comment card at the end of our stay included something about telling people arriving from the south about the time difference (as though it's their responisibility, ha!). Blair ...

... and it slowly dawned on us that this wasn´t just siesta. Some as-yet-to-be-named provincial holiday caused even churches and supermarkets to be closed on our only day of sightseeing in Jujuy. However, we made the best of it as usual, and managed to see the history museum, the outside of all the cathedrals, the place where the municipal market would be if it was open, the place where the river would be if ...

... to Jujuy and someone threw a rock at the window so it broke. Luckily no one was sitting in that seat!! I guess people throw rocks at the buses so that they stop and then the people rob the bus. Great. Well no one robbed us, and we just bundled up and kept going until we could change buses later. In San Martin Libertador we met with our Pro Yungas leader Lucio, a nice jokester man full of information (he's a biologist). He told us about what Pro Yungas is all ...

... ser que hay una empresa chilena de transporte que cubre la ruta pero aún no dí con el sitio que me pusiera al tanto del precio. Una vez allí me gustaría visitar tres lugares que me llaman mucho la atención: Geisers del Tatio (http://www.sanpedroatacama.com/novedad es_52.htm ) , Salar de Atacama (http://gochile.cl/Attr_s ...