Purmamarca

After Cafayate, the plan was to go to Purmamarca and spend in a night in Salta in between. On arrival in Salta we asked around to find out which bus company could take us directly to Purmamarca. The answer: none. They all told us that we could take a bus going to Humahuaca and that it could drop us off in the middle of nowhere, where we could then take a taxi to Purmamarca, or we could go to Jujuy and take a direct bus from there. Jujuy only being a couple of hours away from Salta, we figured that spending a night there or in Salta would be the same. With that decision, our day in Salta became a mere two hours. The tourist information desk told us about a cable car that takes you up to Cerro San Bernard where you have a nice view of the city. It was a very nice recommendation, and we ended up having lunch overlooking the city of Salta.

A couple of hours later, and we were in Jujuy. Although it is the capital city of the region of Jujuy, there is very little to do there. We walked around all afternoon in the markets looking at the junk that was for sale. I had given my laundry to the hostel, as they promised me it would be ready by 8 o'clock the next morning, and we had a bus at 10. Obviously, at 9 o'clock, it had not been done. They had lied to me, and I was left with no option but to put damp laundry in my bag.

Purmamarca was a really nice little town made up solely of mud huts. It was a fantastic little place that looked like it had not advanced in the last century. That is the way it looks on the surface, anyway. On closer inspection, the whole town is overrun by tourists, and shops selling the tackiest of the tacky souveniers. Still, the village is not the reason why we were there. We wanted to see the Salinas, and the Cerro de Siete Colores.

After finding a hostel, we went on the search for an excursion company that could take us to the Salinas. This is basically a desert that is made up of salt rather than sand. It is impossible to walk around there without sun glasses, because the light reflecting off the salt is blinding. Likewise, it is not recommended to walk around without sun screen. There are some locals who have set up stalls there making sculptures out of salt, and they are all wearing face masks and gloves despite the heat, because otherwise they would burn alive.

In the same afternoon, we went on a walk to see the Cerro de Siete Colores, which is a mountain with several different coloured rocks. Frankly, we never asked why there are different colours in the rocks, but it was amusing to see for the hour we spent on the trail.

The next day, we went back to Salta where we had plans to go directly to Iguazu on the other side of the continent. We were told that there was only one possible route, and that was a 26 hour ride leaving at 5:30 in the morning.