Leaving the highlands tomorrow...

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I'm writing this sitting on our large balcony, in the warm late afternoon sun...

We had breakfast at a very old restaurant this morning because almost all the restaurants are closed today...it was OK, but Bill was served a mug of hot milk and a jar of Nescafe when he ordered coffee! We checked on bus times for tomorrow, which was hard because the bus leaves from a stop, not the bus terminal. The ticket booth was closed but the woman who sells tacos nearby told us there was a bus at 11:40 am...hope there is!

We took a taxi from the plaza to the entrance of a gated community, where we had to pay to enter, and then walk 2.5 km to the waterfall, El Salta. In the taxi we passed people on horseback, and Bill suggested we try that to save his knees, but we had already passed the horse hire place...

We walked for an hour down beautiful cobblestone shaded lanes, past large vacation homes (all unoccupied) to the waterfall. Just before we got there, we passed a family who joked about us not taking horses...and seemed amused that we had walked all the way.

The falls were very pretty and there was only one other couple there....we walked back and had the same taxi come get us at the gate. The driver had been working as a arborist in White Plains, NY, and had filled out the paperwork for residency, but something went wrong and he was turned back at the border when he tried to return to the states. He's been waiting for 4 years now, and works 12 hour days for about $20/day...

We had trouble finding anywhere to eat tonight and did not want to return the Zapatista-era restaurant again...We ended up at the pizza place on the plaza, and had a great time. The woman who was eating there when we came in came over and talked with us. She is from Reno and here staying with family while trying to get to her paperwork accepted to return to her husband and kids. After she left, a family came in and we all soon realized that they had spoken to us by the waterfall! They had ridden horses to the falls and we remembered seeing them pass the taxi...They were surprised how quickly we got to the falls on foot...

Everyone here has been so friendly...a great town! Back on the road tomorrow!

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Photos

Our hotel
Our room is on the top floor on the left

Older woman
there are still a few in town, and some cover their heads with shawls..in a few years they will all be gone..

In Los Cazos, a vacation gated community
We had to pay to go in the walk to the waterfall...

One big house had tiles their entire yard
And included an American flag

Pizza dinner tonight
On a balcony overlooking the plaza

More friends....
A family from Riverside and Guadalajara
The 2 year old is named Derek for Derek Jeter, the ball player!