Today we left Salta and headed north up a twisty narrow road beside a river; everything was very lush and green. Luckily it was a quiet road; we had to dodge cattle, the occasional horse, and even geese. Tobacco was growing in the fields - we soon left them behind and headed up a narrow gorge with a tropical feel - there were vines hanging from the huge trees.At last the tiny road met the highway and we started making better time. Before long we were on the road up the Quebrada (canyon) de Humahuaca, where there were mountains on either side of a wide riverbed - green at first, then browner, until we literally turned a corner and saw a rockier landscape dotted with cardon cactus. Infrequent intense storms eroded the mountains, exposing the sedimentary layers, to create the fantastic and colourful formations we saw.
We turned up a narrow road to visit the tiny village of Purmamarca, which lies at the foot of the hill of seven colours. We had fun walking the dusty streets looking at crafts, kids playing with lambs, and of course the hills.
At 3 p.m. we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and had to stop to take a picture, and watch people in the distance herding sheep and tilling a field of onions by hand.
We´re staying in the small town of Humahuaca, where roads are made of cobblestones. The church was built in 1641.
Photo by Emi (Flickr Creative Commons)
