The northernmost province of Argentina
Trip Start
Aug 26, 2005
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27
126
Trip End
May 26, 2008
Jujuy,
Argentina
Saturday, April 15, 2006
To get to Jujuy I took a long long long bus from Buenos Aires. The first long because its just a long way, the second because the bus was terrible and the third long because the bloody thing broke down in Tucuman. While we waited at the bus station, it drove off to get fixed, complet with my backpack and everything else! It was a tense hour as the 20 of us from the bus wondered if we would ever see our stuff again.
It came back! woohooo and we rode a long slow gear grinding trip many hours North to Jujuy.
It took 24 hours to get here from Buenos Aires and I arrived in pouring rain, not to mention the cold.
Jujuy was an interesting little place. At first glance, it didnt appear to have anything. Partly because of three things:
1 - It was Sunday
2 - Their siesta lasts for 90% of the day
3 - It was easter Sunday
So, with the combination of the above 3 factors, I had a boring first day that basically involved wandering aimlessly around the streets, window shopping and checking out the plazas. Which are average!
I had a late and extended dinner and at midnight, ventured onto the streets in thje pouring rain. Being Easter, they had their midnight mass. I saw it as an excuse to escape the cold and rain so took refuge at the back of the church, which was packed with, what appeared to be the entire town. I made a bad move and walked in the door just as the collection trays were going round. I threw in a few spare centavos and listened to the heavy rain outside drowning out their singing/preaching/whatever they do.
The next day was slightly more eventful, starting at 11am with a coffee and a wander around town, this time with the shops open. Then I set off to find the illusive Christ statue, apparantly sitting atop a big hill, providing a brilliant view of town. I was givena few general directions but with the entire city surrounded by potential christ resting points, it proved difficult. I eventually stopped an old man in the street and the following occured.
Me; ´Hola, sabes donde esta el christo´ (hello, do you know where christ is)
Old man: ´haha si, si, el esta arriba´ (yes yes, he is up)
The old man grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the street for a better view.
Old man: ´Mirar el es en todos los lugares´ (Look, he is everywhere)
Then he pointed to a cloud
Old man: ´El Christo esta alli´(Christ is here)
Then he laughed and stumbled off down the street leaving me laughing my head off.
I did appreciate the lesson however i still had no idea where to find this christ statue.
I continued wandering around the streets, keeping my eyes on the hilltops and eventually decided to ask again. This time my target was a 10 year old kid kicking a soccer ball around the street with a pack of dogs barking from the sidelines.
He seemed to know what i was talking about and instead of pointing to the heavens, he motinoed towards a nearby hill. I walked towards it and within a few minutes i saw a massive christ statue dominating the hill. It was a surprisingly difficult climb up a slippery and muddy track but the view from the top was unreal.
For easter I bought myself a Kinder Surprise and opened it at the top. I got an awesome speedboat with stickers and everything. Best easter present ever!
After admiring the small town of Jujuy below and saying a few quiet prayers, i slid down the hill, getting mud all over myself and returned to town for my next adventure.
The hot springs:
After misleading information about where to take the bus from, i eventually found it and rode for an hour, sitting next to a Geologist from Cordoba, who was here to study the granite rocks. We chatted all the way, I was helping with his English and he tried to help with my Spanish. I arrived at the famous hot springs of Jujuy. It was cold and wet, not like my book said! But I made the most of it, paying my 3 pesos and jumping in the 40 degree pools, I was the only person there and sat in the hot water, admiring the amazing view below and watching the steam pouring off the water. Just before I turned into a prune I got out, quickly dried myself in the freezing cold and waited for the bus back to town.
The bus arrived - an hour late! But amazingly, the Geologist was sitting in the same seat i left him in. We got chatting agian and he invited me back to his place for mate. He has rented an apartment for the year to study, so we put on some music and drank mate.
We decided to head into town to get some dinner, it was only 10pm, which he considered too early but gave into my pleas of hunger!
We ended up at a traditional restaurant and both ate a traditional dish: Picante de Llama! (Spicy Llama) It was the first time for me and I tell ya, llama is amazing! Its like goat, but wow, just loads better!
After stuffing ourselves with spicy llama and a local beer called Salta I retired and headed back to my dingy hotel.
From Jujuy, I headed 2 hours North and ended up at a place called Tilcara.... More coming soon.
