Early
the next day we started a long drive following the famous itinerary of the "Train
of the Clouds". We left the city of Salta to go to San Antonio de los Cobres
(at 12500 ft) through breathtaking canyons of the northern Andes (Quebrada del
Toro), visiting Santa Rosa de Tastil, which was the largest pre-Inca city in
the country. The colors were fascinating and the people were sparse, since it
gets so cold and dry up there.
The people here had the cutest little churches in the middle of nowhere.
And it was here where we started noticing the interesting placement of their cemeteries, on hilltops and in beautiful locations.
From there we headed through the Puna (high plateau) towards a huge salt deposit (SALINAS GRANDES) in the northern province of Jujuy. We saw alpacas out in the plains and a few small villages. We could see the whiteness in the distance, but it didn't take full effect until we actually got there and drove onto the salt flats and experienced the white immenseness.
We then started winding down the famous winding "Cuesta de Lipán" to reach a highlight: the colonial village of Purmamarca, at the foot of the Seven Colors Mountain. They had a nice little market going on there and some interesting little shops.
The
next day was a good shopping day for Teresa. We first visited another interesting
site of ruins at Tilcara and then stopped by the market in that city. We had
been told that it had the best prices and selection and Teresa agreed.
We stopped at several other small indigenous villages with great architecture and friendly people. We visited a church that had some really unique paintings in it. It seems that the Spaniards told the peasants to paint some pictures of angels to put in the church. The peasants had no idea what angels looked like. The Spaniards told them "they look like us", so the peasants painted pictures of men in typical Spanish attire, carrying swords and guns, and with wings on!
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