LA PACHAMAMA

I left you at our (exhausted) arrival in Tafi del Valle.
Since then we have been travelling through places like Amaicha, Cafayate, Salta, Pumamarca, Tilcara and today we made a daytrip to Iruya from Humahuaca, where we are currently staying. As (most of) the names already suggest they aren´t originally Spanish towns, but inhabited by indigenous people.
Except for Salta they are all small villages in the mountains in the north of Argentina. All of them hours apart from each other, the mountains vary. We have taken hikes over very dry steep mountains (Tafi) (yesterday we felt the first rain in 7 months....rivers and vegetation are all dried up. Since a few days the suns shines really brightly), the mountains with seven colours (Cafayate and Pumamarca) and climbed to the top of a white mountain (Humahuaca). We also visited old ruins from the Quilmes (Amaicha) and Indios (Tilcara) and a saltfield (Pumamarca).

Somehow we knew we wanted to discover Argentina, but we know very little and our preparation consisted of getting ready for the journey. I was planning to read some literature, but never had time to do so. (Anyone who wants to send me a copy in Dutch or English of a well respected Brazilian/Chilean/Argentinean author, with a preferance for Borges, contact me!). Every step here is a discovery. I already had my first encounter with lamas in the wild!

Most travellers we meet are Argentineans from Buenos Aires. This gives us the chance to see how they are and to ask many questions (I know, how unlike me!)
It is one of the characteristics of travelling: you meet, form little groups and dissolve again and then perhaps meet again a couple of days later or never...Today we bumped into Silvina and Sebastian again, who we met in the hostel in Tafi, which was pretty cool. They talk clearly and are generally a good laugh!
The impression the Argentineans have given us is that they are social, talkative and inclusive, which is great!

Most people don´t speak anything but Spanish, not even in the hostels or touristinfos. We don't even bother asking if they understand English and we are able to stutter (less and less) our way through it, as long as people speak slowly or repeat what they say (less and less necessary. Learning new words every day. I even helped translating on few occasions! Knowing Italian and listening to Gloria Estefan and Salsamusic is paying off!! Sylvia claims I was even speaking Spanish in my sleep...
I am just happy I can get my information, ask questions and make a few jokes. Sylvia is trying harder to grasp the language. We might buy a grammarbook soon, as it is getting quite frustrating using the wrong conjugations of the past tense..

The various Argentineans we hang out with are as much tourists as we are. In Buenos Aires almost everybody is of European descent, which you can see. As soon as we started to head north, the looks changed. People here have a brown coloured skin and a different build. I am sure you are familiar with the look, mainly from touristguides of Peru or Bolivia. They are the ´indigenos´, or the ´nativos´ as they call it. It seems like the government has never invested that much in them and their language Quechua has disappeared a great deal. We have stayed in various villages and not even half of the roads are asphalted. You see them neither on tv nor on the many football teams. We often sit hours in the bus, passing mountains, not any house in sight for miles and still people get on and off...
We visited one nativo that lived in such an isolated environment. It was his choice to do so, as he wanted to live according to the traditions of Pachamama, mother earth. He had built the different buildings (kind of sheds) and the oven on the premises by himself from whatever the earth had offered him. He lived off making traditional pots and masks, which are sold on the many artesanal markets and off his sheep and chickens. Even though the original tradition is very much aimed at nature, I am not sure about their religion. I know the Jesuits have worked hard and there are churches and crosses all over. When we visited the big beautiful cathedral in Salta on sundayevening it was fully packed.

I have many more things to tell, but unfortunately this internet cafe is closing in a few minutes...

Tomorrow we are heading to Bolivia. The saltmine we visited here was pretty cool, but now we will visit the biggest in the world in Uyuni for a few days before heading to Chile. It is quite exciting, even though we feel a bit insecure about Bolivia, after feeling safe here and having clean bathrooms!

A last remark for the Dutchies:
Ik kan er niks aan doen, maar elke keer als ik het bord naar de stad ´Neuquen´ zie, moet ik toch lachen...en oja, Maxima is hier wereldberoemd.

In any case, we have no lack of ´local authentic´ experiences....dusty villages, porteños (inhabitants of Buenos Aires), nativos, mate (a drink Argentineans are addicted to. Put very strong tea in a cup. Add water. Put a metal straw in it. Pass it around. Add water when necessary. It is very bitter) and I even tried Coca leaves (still waiting for its effect).