On my way to Humahuaca there was a police checkpoint. I had not noticed that one of my headlights had failed and so the police officer wanted to give me a fine. Or rather, he said that technically he would be supposed to give me a fine *wink* *wink*. After my parking ticket situation I really was not into getting another ticket so I went with the suggestion and gave him US$20.
Purmamarca
Everyone said I should visit Purmamarca when I am in the province of Jujuy but I did not really see the appeal of the town. It might just be a jumping off point to visit the nearby salt flats but apart from that it only offers a large crafts market (where I don’t believe that any of the goods are really handmade) and an old church that was built with local materials. The other main attraction is the cerro de siete colores but the quebrada de hornocal was way cooler than that small mountain in comparison. Granted the church was somewhat interesting but apart from that only the coffee was good.
The arts and crafts market in Purmamarca.
Pucará de Tilcara
Near the town of Tilcara there is an old pre-inka town that has been partially restored. You can read more about this place on Wikipedia.
In the 19th century the discoverers of this city built a pyramid here like they are usually found in central america. Thing is that the culture that built this town never used such pyramids.
They restored some of the roofs as they used to be built back then. The crossbeam is made of cactus wood.
In the botanical garden of the town they exhibited all the different plants that grow there. One of them is this hairy cactus.
Humahuaca
In Humahuaca I went to a bunch of mechanics and asked them if they could repair my broken headlight but none of them had the light that I needed.
In the end I just had one of them do an oil change and clean my air filters.
The air filters were very very dirty.
When they were done and told me the amount that I needed to pay - 30.000 pesos, ca 50€ - most of which was for the oil - I realized that I did not have enough money on me and they did not want to accept US-Dollars. So I had to drive into town with one of the guys and stand in line at the only ATM that they had to withdraw more money.
Quebrada de Hornocal
I slept nearby the road to the quebrada (canyon) so I was able to drive there very early the next day.
I was north of the tropic of capricorn now so I started taking precautions against mosquitos.
The gravelroad to the quebradas was fun to drive and the switchbacks up the mountainside were also quite fun. Some other travelers that obviously did not have a 4WD struggled to get up quickly due to the washboard nature of the road.
Along the way up some vicunas had breakfast.
The parking lot is at 4500m altitude and I noticed the car beginning to struggle to get up the steep mountain road towards the top.
I had some breakfast up there as well
A signal station was right nearby so I could call home while enjoying the view.
The view back towards the town revealed another gorgeous canyon.
The parking lot with the normal lookout.
It was cold and sunny up there and I was too lazy to put on sunscreen. This is why I have such a strange outfit.
As I hiked further away from the lookout I also started to notice the altitude. Just from hiking on fairly flat terrain I started to breathe super heavily. Luckily I did not have to go far.