Am I on the right tour? Are you sure it's not snow?

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Second day of a tour, and this was by far the longest one. My alarm went off at 6:30 am and I turned on the light to make sure I wouldn't fall asleep (I learned this from Joe). Finally, I got out of bed and got ready for my journey. We piled on the bus and Christine was there, including a German guy from the day before, and two guys behind me (and of course, my roommate sitting next to me). A scottish and an english guy who were getting ready to be lawyers. The group of us spent most of the day together. There were also a group of Dutch girls who were all there together. The first thing our tour guide told us was this, "Buy Coca for La Puna" altitude sickness. What is coca? It's the leaves they use to make cocaine. Our tour guide continued to explain the process of making cocaine. What kind of tour was I am? When we got to the store, Christine, Tom and I decided to split a bag of coca. We were instructed to put 20-30 leaves without the stems into our cheeks and leave it there for two hours. Christine and I ended up being the only ones who put the coca leaves in our cheeks. When in Salta, do as the saltenos do, Right?

So off started the long and arduous bus ride to San Antonio de los Cobres, the destination for the Tren a Las Nubes. It's not running anymore, but the way that the clouds sat on top of the mountains, I could only imagine how breathtaking the train ride would be. We passed by a lot of little towns along the way, as wel as a lot of houses that were in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't quit eimagine living in a palce that's desolate. Then we stopped by San Antonio de los Cobres. It was an incredibly tiny town. All of the people there looked indigenous. It was a completely different world from Buenos Aires, Mendoza or even Salta which was so close by. It was not a town that seemed to have much going on. Even with the houses there, the town looked pretty deserted.

We continued onto our next destination-- the salt flats. When we got there, we were warned of the intense heat and how the poeple who work there cover their faces to prevent them from burning. However, you could tell from their hands how much sun they really got.

The salt flats was this incredible expanse of whiteness that's not snow. The sun was also intense. I was really tempted to try the salt-- probably because it was forbidden. I didn't try it but it was interesting to see the process of how they would make salt. I almost wanted to lie in the pool of water with salt in it.

After our salt flats trip, we headed to the highest point. Luckily, I wasn't the slightest bit light-headed and was able to walk around and enjoy the beautiful views.

Our day, however, wasn't over! We headed to Pumamarca-- a small traditional village with an artisan craft fair. I resisted the temptation to buy and continued to wander around and marvel at the Hills with the 7 colors. The Hills and the mountains here are spectacular. The vibrant colors and the way things fall on each other are amazing. Truly awe-inspiring.

When it was finally time to head home, we all piled in the van and the guys behind me asked me what college I went to. Funny thing about Berkeley-- It's internationally known. They hear of four schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Berkeley. Immediately, one of the guys asked me if I was in a sorority. This started a long discussion of how the greek system works and the opportunities it has given me. It's very rare for me to explain what being greek really means. Since 1) i usually hide it and 2) I'm so much more than a sorority girl. But in that moment, in explaining all the skills and the things I learned from being in the sorority and being a leader, I appreciated the fact that I was in a sorority and all that I ha gained from the experience. It's so much more than a sorority. I made the best friends there. Learned about myself there. Became a great leader and a great person through my experiences there. Sometimes, it takes explaining to strangers what something was like to realize how much it really did matter.

When we got back to town, it was late, so me and the three guys decided to head out for food (christine had an early busy to Iguazu and needed sleep). We went to a Parilla, got wine, and then headed back. We all decided to go back to the rooftop bar, where my old roommate was back. We all hung out, had some beer, laughed at Rowan as two Austrian girls tried to get him to hang out with them... and then headed to this place called Babylon.

Babylon played 1) hip hop music 2) salsa music and 3) was only two blocks away. I had so much fun dancing. Man I miss dancing to non-techno music.

But all I really wanted to do was the Cuban Shuffle. Rowan said I should request it, but I didn't think the Cuban Shuffle was international.

I didn't stay out late because I had yetanother tour to Cachi the next day... my final one... and then I would have seen it all.

And thus began the short walk home when I decided to call it quits. Tom said he didn't get back to the room until 6am. Glad I ended up not staying out with the guys!

BTW. i've been spending an exhorbitant amount of time with guys. It's refreshing once I get to hang out with girls!

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