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Published: April 4th 2008
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After nearly six weeks in Argentina, it was time to move on. For my final few days in the country, I headed to Tilcara, a small village in the Quebrada de Humahuaca north of Jujuy. It was absolutely beautiful....you know how sometimes you get off the bus somewhere, and you just know you've made the right decision going there? Tilcara was like that. It's an interesting combination of modern and traditional - touristy without being in-your-face touristy. Upmarket tourist hotels and restaurants nestled side by side with traditional buildings made of adobe, in streets that trailed off into the mountains beyond. It's an incredibly arid area, as it hardly rains at all (although it did rain while I was there) and the main attraction - apart from the mountains - is the Pukará, a pre-Inca fortress which was discovered and restored in the mid-20th century. I only had three days in the town, but I could easily have stayed for longer.
When I first arrived, I was planning to stay at the Malka Hostel, which was recommended in the guide book. But when I got there it was closed. So I went to the tourist office for a list of
accommodation - it, too, was closed, as it was a Sunday. It was the middle of the day, and humping my big backpack around in the sun was getting pretty hot, so I was extremely grateful when I suddenly heard someone calling my name. It was Flor, who I'd met in Tafí, and again in Cafayate. By this stage, I was so used to running into the same people again and again, so I wasn't at all surprised! She took me to where she was staying, a lovely rustic-style hostel run by a couple with two small children. It was very homely and cosy, and even had a garden (complete with hammock!) with gorgeous views across to the mountains.
On the first day I was there, I went to nearby Purmamarca, which is famous for its seven coloured mountain. The first time I saw it, I had to wonder if it was real because it just looked incredible. There's a 3km walk around the mountain, which finishes off with a small mirador with fantastic views across to the mountain and around. The town itself is very small and charming, in a similar way to Tilcara. There's an artesan market
on the main plaza, which I had a wander around before having lunch and heading back to Tilcara. I was pretty tired that day, so did nothing for the rest of the day except lounge around in the hammock, reading and enjoying the view.
For my second day, I went on an excursion to some caves up in the mountains above Tilcara. The climb up was pretty tough, as my legs weren't accustomed to the altitude...the village is at 2,500metres, and we were going even further up. It was worth it for the views down to the town, and across the mountains. Once in the cave, our guide had is write message using candles, whilst he took photos. I couldn't work out how to change the shutter speed on my camera, so my photos didn't come out.
That evening, I went out with some of the people from the hostel - including Steff, who I'd met in Cafayate and in Salta. There was another girl in the hostel, Patricia, who was booked on a bus that left at 3am and had decided she wasn't going to bed beforehand...so the excuse for the night out was to keep her
awake! We went to a peña on the main square, where they have traditional music shows every evening. The music was really good - as well as guitar and drums, it included musicians playing such weird and wonderful instruments as what looked like a child's toy guitar (it did have a name but I've forgotten), a bizarre looking trumpet-like instrument which was a good few metres long. Sadly I forgot to take my camera with me so I couldn't take any photos of it! After the show finished, Patricia and I got talking to some of the musicians and ended up going for a drink with them until it was time for Patricia to get her bus.
The next day it was time to move on. I felt quite sad, not just for leaving such a lovely town, but also because after nearly six weeks in the country I was moving on from Argentina. It's a beautiful country, full of lovely, warm people, and I've had a really great time while I've been here. My next stop is San Pedro de Atacama, back in Chile again.
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