pick-up at 7 AM, drop-off at 9 PM, destination Humahuaca.

i tend to do tours backwards. i don’t spend a lot of time investigating the destination prior to the trip, i just go and then read all about it when i get back, it gives me something to do while having dinner. this method usually works, but today it didn’t work out so well.

had i looked, i would have realized i was going on a tour to the mountains 161 miles away. i would have packed accordingly bringing the guide book, cell phone, two snack bars and more than one bottle of water. also this tour happened to be 98% Spanish speaking, 2% English speaking. but the other English 1% spoke Spanish almost fluently, so it was me, the lone English speaker, catching every other word.

it was fine, i made up the history as we went along, it involved the Incas and the dinosaurs. not historically accurate, but i’m pretty sure i can sell the script. at lunch i found out that a few people on the mini-bus spoke some English and they started to translate the important bits for me, like what time to be back on the bus, don’t take pictures in the church, and where the bathroom was located.

so, what did i see on my day long adventure you ask…….well there were a number of places.

i saw the Paleta de Pintor (Painter’s Palette), each color change is due to the minerals in the soil.

 

the Pucara (Fortress) de Ticara and the Jardin de Botanica, otherwise known as the Garden of Giant Cactus.

Humahuaca itself, which felt a lot like Peru to me, lots of crafts in bright colors.

 

 

brief stop outside the Maimara Cemetery…..each person that stops here on a tour gets a little ceramic souvenir and the address of the person who made it. the address is so you can send the children of the town items when you return home. i can do that, who doesn’t want to help children?!

and that about sums up the highlights. all in all it was pretty interesting, although a very long day.