Posta de Purmamarca

... jeg nogensinde har set! Omraadet kaldes "Cerro de los Siete Colores" (bjergene med de syv farver), og det var bestemt ikke en underdrivelse.

Tilbage i selve Pumamarca gik jeg en tur om bag byen, men hvordan beskriver man foelelsen af lige pludselig at staa paa en stor groen slette med bjerge i alle mulige farver? Det var meget overvaeldende!

I dag, onsdag, fik jeg tid til min maleblog i morgenlyset foer jeg tog ...

... couple.  

We then went for lunch in Tilcara.  The food at this restaurant was so tasty.  A fusion of local cuisine but adapted slightly for a more modern palate. My best was the dessert which was a cheese formed like pasta and inside was a pumpkin jam sitting on cane sugar - more molassis. The cheese diffused the sweetness of the jam and sugar.  

Back to the hotel and it was homework time with the kids- slightly nicer around the pool.
 

... and driver Roman, how civilized. 

We took an amazing winding mountain pass and eventually arrived at Purmamarca which lies in the northernmost province of Jujuy.  We were staying at El Manantial del Silencio which it certainly was not after we arrived.  We appeared to disrupt the other guests with our excited arrival and was asked to be quiet by another guest!  Pretty difficult with three children under ten but we will try. 

 

 
  

 

... steak. Km 15110 - Salinas Grandes (3350m) After lunch it was back on the legendary Route 40 northbound to the junction of the road to Chile via Paso de Jama (IŽll talk about this pass in the next episode). At the junction youŽll find some salt flats (Salinas). Ok, these are not as big as those of Uyuni in Bolivia (these are the biggest in the world), but still it was nice to drive onto this big white salt flat and ...

... cela n'a plus aucun effet et commence a irriter. Apres des au-revoirs chaleureux a Juan, Paula, Pablo et Matias, nous prenons le bus. Aucune place en auberge, nous plantons la tente dans le jardin de l'auberge Don Tomas. Nous nous couchons sous un orage.

... the one turning off of the road, which we have been travelling along for 3 days, to Purmamarca. On the way we pick up a Polish hitchhiker (it seems that they are not all working in London!). The bus had dropped him and his 2! girlfriends at the junction and would not take them the last 2kms to Purmamarca, so the girls were sending him ahead to find a taxi. Fat chance! Purmamarca is ...

... rock where about the only thing that could grow was the odd cactus. A river ran parallel to the road for much of the way. Along its course, grew tall grass and yellowing poplars, providing a welcome splash of contrasting colour. The plan for our journey today was to follow the tracks of the infamous Tren de los Nubes (Train of the clouds) until we reached the Viaducto La Polvorilla. The point was simply to see this piece of engineering and the ...

... ask you if you speak Castilian, not Spanish....cause they speak Spanish, which is their own version of the Spanish I know. And then there's the red meat and gauchos. The land of the PARILLA. Here's how a parilla works. The cow is divided into every cut of meat possible, then it's grilled up, and, if you order parilla for two, you get about 5 pounds of it grilled. Now this includes not only big old steaks, but ribs ...

... us about the Tren a las Nubes route. This is described in Footprints Argentina as the most beautiful landscape in the country. Other routes to the south of Salta to Cachi and Cafayate also sound spectacular. After checking out some tours, we find it is the same price to hire a car for 72 hours spread over 4 days (588 Pesos). We decide to make a trip north and then around to the Tren a las Nubes route, passing through the Salinas Grandes (Great salt flats). On ...

... accomodation when a friendly fellow driving by, stopped his car and asked what we were after and how much we wanted to pay. WeŽve been lucky in that itŽs been low season in most places weŽve travelled - a strong negociating position! The mountains around the area have been inhabited by indigenous peoples for centuries, most recently by the incas before the spaniards. As a result there are a multitude of archeological sites, and the museums are ...