Sucre, Bolivia: Street Food, French Sugar and Back to School

Following a short 2 hour bus ride I was in Sucre. Without seeing a map or anything I walked as I normally do, except this time it didn't work so well. After walking around in circles for about 2 hours I saw a sign for a HI Hostel. After checking-in seeing a map I realised that I was actually walking around the suburban area and the city centre was not close to the bus stop or the hostel I eventually found.

Most people will say La Paz is the capital of Bolivia (it is the administrative capital, the seat of government and congress) but Sucre is the constitutional, judicial and official capital of Bolivia. Sucre is the 5 largest city with a population of about 250,000. It has also had 4 official names with Sucre being the most recent along with the unofficial nickname of The White City. Sucre is also French for sugar which lead to the Frenchies and I giving it a 6th name, Azúcar (Spanish, and also Arabic, for sugar).

After settling into my room it was time to say good bye to a pair of Jeans that I had sewed up about 20 times since buying cotton and needles in Uruguay. I always get my jeans altered so they are the exact length for me to wear with thongs (flip flops) so I held onto these way too long... I was definitely showing off more than just my accent in South America!

I got a year of travelling from these Calvin Kleins

The next day I wandered into the central market. This place is unbelievable. You can buy absolutely anything and get proper meals for under $2. My favourite is the square of juice stands all competing with each other. For less than $1 you choose which fruits to go into a blender with milk or water (always milk for me) then you sit down and drink it in a fancy glass... then you hand the glass back and they fill it up AGAIN! 2 incredibly fresh fruit smoothies for less than a buck became a morning ritual for me.

Afterwards I walked to the main square. While I was taking photos a Bolivian man approached me and started talking. One of the bad things that comes with travelling is you see a lot of scams and the majority of locals that approach in central places are generally after something. I was very cautious of my wallet and camera while expecting some sort of scam. 

He was actually a traveller himself from another Bolivian town and had a camera very similar to mine. He just wanted to talk about photography and explained a lot about the history. I hated assuming the worst of a good person but unfortunately the majority of the time it would be a scam... I even got to hear Quechua for the first time (a native language that is still widely spoken, Google Search allows you choose it as a default language).   

After my quick morning tour I met up with Alex and Becca, an American couple I met in Tilcara, Argentina, they were renting an awesome apartment for a month in the very centre of town for a ridiculous price. Every time I entered this apartment Becca would immediately make up a cocktails that would almost knock you off your feet.

This day became a long one. Alex and I had lunch at the central market before heading up to a cafe over looking the city for some beers. Alex is pretty cool guy and the 2nd person I met in South Am that used to work for Google. He and Becca had camped up most of South Am going through most of the same cities/towns as me.

We were thirsty after the long up hill hike.

While we were drinking Alex recognised one of his American classmates Sara (who became my Sucre running buddy) and her Austrian housemate Christoph (who became my classmate). 

Sara and Christoph invited us to join them at a bar for a screening of a Spanish movie. We took the scenic route down from the hill via the largest Fuzzball setup that I have seen. Each team was actually painted to match real teams.

We were finally at the Amsterdam bar for the movie También la lluvia (Even the Rain)... Watch this movie! In 2000 there were massive violent riots/protests in Cochabamba, Bolivia when the government tried to start charging some of the world's poorest people for rain water (a real event). The movie is about a film team from Spain and Mexico filming a Christopher Columbus conquest in this city when suddenly the riots breakout with their lead native actor being the ringleader (fictional). 

After the movie Sara was due to meet someone from Couchsurfing for the first time ever and was a bit worried about meeting a random from the internet. Since I'm a Couchsurfing veteran I said I would come along. We ended up a bar/restaurant of my future hostel with the Bolivian Couchsurfer, a Spanish girl he was hosting and a Bolivian in town from Cochabamba.

The Couchsurfing Gang!

The next morning (Friday) I changed hostels, met a lot of people at my new hostel, enrolled in my third language school and did some more exploring.

During my daily wandering I discovered the big park with a climbable Eiffel tower in the middle (no photo because young kids were always playing on it) and the old train station (no rail network in Bolivia anymore)... I also ran into 2 Frenchies, Hugo and Clovis, that I met in Tilcara and again in Potosi... I can't escape.

The Old Train Station

After returning to the hostel I discovered Papa Rellenas (potatoes stuffed with anything, generally meat or cheese) in a pasta sauce... So good! Soon after eating, Sara collected me for a late afternoon run around the big park. 

The altitude in Sucre is just over 2,800m, my lowest altitude in 2 weeks but still enough to kill me. This park (of death) became my regular running track. It was a 500m rectangle with 2 long sides on a slope and 2 curved short sides. Perfect for altitude training!

After the run I quickly showered and went to Sara's place. Sara, Christoph and I made our way to a hidden Italian restaurant. It is a house with a little sign, you ring the doorbell and the Italian owner/chef answers. We were joined by 2 others, 1 was my other future Dutch classmate (Suzanne). Alex and Becca also happened to have a booking as well, so did a few others from my hostel, and Rolando the CSer was there for a work function. 

I made a spontaneous decision to eat here and I knew half of this tiny little restaurant a random Bolivian city. This restaurant is number 5 on Tripadvisor and will set you back around $10 for a decent meal (This is the high end price in Bolivia).

After returning to the hostel it was party time, the drinking games began in the bar with my roommates, 3 young Americans that teach English in Chile and Patricia (Rolando's CSer). Patricia is from Asturias (the north west region of Spain) and speaks Spanish faster than my ears can listen. 

After dancing at the hostel I saw 3 girls eating Birthday cake so starting singing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl from Hong Kong. Patricia and I immediately had plates of cake in our hands. I soon found myself in a taxi with the girl from HK and the 2 Bolivian girls she was with on my way to Mitos (1 or 2 night clubs in Sucre).... My American roomies just happened to be there too... memory gone for the rest of that night.

The weekend involved drinks at Alex's and Becca's place, meeting many more people, my first visit to the non profit vegetarian Condor cafe, more drinks on the hill, meeting the Frenchies again, and getting very acquainted with Singani (the national spirit of Bolivia made from grapes) and Chuflay (the common Singani cocktail)... And brushing up on my Spanish before my first day of class.

Monday morning saw me up bright and early for a level exam and 1 on 1 Spanish discussion at my language school. My level was rated at the middle of intermediate. My class would be from 2-6pm for the week, 20 hours for a total cost of $100 US, half the price of Spain, Chile and Argentina.

I was surprised when my classmates were Christoph, Suzanne and an old(er) French lady, Myriam.

Classmates plus half of Christoph's younger Brother, Benny

The school held quite a few social events after class. Salsa dancing was the one I attended, and showed off my skills. There was also a ping pong table which occupied our 4pm break. Chris and his brother were literally ping pong champions in Austria that competed on a university team... I had played semi regular ping pong at hostels during my travels but I was hopeless against these 2.

The next couple of days involved more class, a Cacho competition (like Yahtzee but teams of 2), Sara and I finished somewhere in the middle. There was also a big dinner (3 course meal and a beer for 7 bucks) at Condor Cafe where I ran into Alexia (Frenchie from Tilcara and Potosi also), another monster breakfast at the cafe with a view, changing to my 3rd hostel (private for less money) and dinner at a steak place with Alex and Becca. 

Dinner at Condor Cafe

The steak place was out in the suburbs and crazy. You could order full or half steaks but little did we know that full was a whole cow and half was half of one... almost. We ordered 2 full sizes between us and a bottle of wine. Then all of these sides (included) covered the table in front of us. 2 plates of potatoes, 2 plates of some rice stuff and 2 plates of chilies and other things. Then out came 2 massive steaks, both over a foot long and thick. We tried our best but required doggy boxes to take half home... All of this for about $15 dollars each.

My $5 Breakfast (Eggs, bacon, salad, croissant, toast, jam, coffee, smoothie, yogurt, glass of fruit).

Some random drinking game, Becca and 2 guys from my 2nd hostel.

During the Cacho competition I met a German couple that were previously in Tupiza and set to go on the Tupiza to Uyuni tour but the guy was too ill in the morning they were due to leave. He was admitted to hospital wrongly diagnosed and recovered. He sent emails of his x-rays to his German doctor and was correctly diagnosed with Pulmonary Oedema with instructions to stay put until fully recovered. I informed him that if he fell ill 1 day later he would be a dead man.

While walking through the street I randomly ran into a Frenchie that cooked me dinner in Tupiza, my first Bolivian city... All of the Frenchies want some sugar.

I bought a hand made beanie for $4

We had a poker tournament scheduled at Alex's and Becca's later in the week, problem was we didn't have a poker set. We decided to into my last hostel to sneak out the poker set, borrowing of course. We had to stop late in the game for a 1am alcohol run... I love South Am and 24 hour convenience stores that sell alcohol.

The weekend was here an it was house party time at Barbara's place. Barbara was born in Bolivia with native parents but adopted by her German parents and grew up in Germany. She was here visiting her biological parents that only speak Spanish and she was a beginner at my school. She was also doing volunteer work for the community.

Barbara, Benny and I

Alex, Becca, Benny and I plus an arm and half a German guy

The night led to a bar before finally finishing at Mitos.

The next day was my last. Alex, Becca and I conquered the mountain behind Sucre. The hike was tough for me in the altitude even with running on most days. The peak was probably around 3,500m

The Beginning

3 quarters up

Becca & Alex

I had a fall being stupid on my way down.

A week after the fall

My last night involved attending a dinner for Suzanne's last night, there were about 20 of us. Then quite a few of us headed to a multi-story bar with different types of music on each floor. The live music was for me.

After 12 awesome nights in was time to say good bye. While walking to the bus stop I ran into another Frenchie, Alban, that I was hiking with 2 months earlier in Córdoba.

Next Stop La Paz!!!... The other Capital of Bolivia.

Lessons Learnt:
My first Spanish school that wasn't located in a world famous beach city was still just as awesome.
Sucre is a great city to study Spanish on a budget or for altitude training.
The market culture in Bolivia is awesome... but quite unhygienic.
You don't have to live somewhere long to feel like you know everyone or make awesome friends.
Singani and Chuflays are deadly.
Wine is the best value drink in Bolivia.

Potosi, Bolivia: It's A Little High Up Here

After leaving the hospital I was dropped off in the centre of Potosi where I quickly found a private room for a couple of nights. Potosi was a very important city in the Spanish Empire, at one stage it is believed to have bankrolled the empire. Over 40,000 tonnes of Silver were mined from the nearby mountain of Cerro de Potosi (AKA Cerro Rico "Rich Mountain") from the 16th to the 18th century, with 20% going to the Spanish crown. This is the origin of the Spanish expression "Vale un Potosi"; Worth a Potosi.

During this time the population stood at over 200,000 people making it one of the largest cities in the world. The population dwindled since those days and has only recently matched historic number again (currently about 250,000). Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world with an average height of 4,090m above sea level. In its day it would have been one of the most beautiful cities in the world but this is no longer the case.

It was before 9am when I arrived in my room. I just stuck to my room for most of the first day. My mind was definitely elsewhere and I was starting develop altitude sickness myself. I remember getting up in the afternoon feeling incredibly light headed, I left my room a bit worried while using the wall to hold myself up. I fell once and was starting to freak out a bit after what had happened over the last few days. I eventually made my way downstairs and had about 10 cups of Coca Tea. The hostel had 2 massive thermoses full of coca tea for the altitude.

The next day while walking the streets I ran into 5 of the Frenchies from Tilcara. We went and had lunch together, Alexia and I shared possibly the worst tasting beer I've had in my life, Potoseña. IF you're not good at pouring beer in normal altitude you have no hope at high altitude, unless you take 5 mins to pour a glass it will be mainly head. After lunch we explored more of the city where I ran into some of the Frenchies from Valle Fertil in Argentina... They really are everywhere. The Frenchies formed one big family and I went back to my hostel.

I had hoped to go to the mines that Potosi is famous for and set of some dynamite but since I wasn't 100% I wasn't too keen on spending the day in very confined spaces. Maybe I will go back one day.

The street food here was awesome. Mini burgers with steak fillets were less than $1. a big bag of popcorn was about 15 cents made fresh on the street.

After 3 nights in Potosi I decided to leave. Normally I would just stick around in a town until I've done what I wanted to do (mines and hiking) but time was becoming for the rest of my South American adventure.

The 15 minute taxi ride to the bus station was $1.50... Sorry travellers but I said it was too cheap and grave him double.

Next stop Sucre, Bolivia!

Leesons Learnt:
Sometimes it feels like I'm still travelling France.
Bolivia is so cheap.
Street food is awesome.
You will never enough time to do everything you want.

Tupiza to Uyuni, Bolivia: The Amazing Tour and With a Bad Ending

While waiting for my bus out of Argentina I saw the Frenchies from Tilcara, they are like rabbits in Argentina, the group was now 7. I shouted "Francia!" but they didn't hear me. When I hopped on the bus I was greeted Alex and Becca (the American couple from the salt flats and my last night in Tilcara) along with a group of English boys from my dorm room in Tilcara... The North of Argentina is so small.

The bus eventually terminated in La Quiaca, still in Argentina. The entry into Bolivia was via walking. I had been told quite a few times that Bolivia doesn't really have a drinking culture but when they drink they get absolutely shitfaced. That was very quickly apparent after my border crossing which took over an hour. Another thing I immediately noticed was the police didn't have guns... this seemed strange to me because in Argentina it seems like everyone has a gun (the police are everywhere in Argentina... during the day anyway). After a quick walk around the Bolivian town of Villazon I was on another bus to Tupiza. Tupiza sits at 3,200 in Altitude.

The next morning morning I was on a search to get out of my overpriced shitty hostel ($10 a night). I found a private room with a queen bed and wifi for $7 a night. I also walked around to every tour agency to find a spot for the 4 day 4WD tour leaving the next day. I was solo so I didn't have much negotiation power but I really got to practice my Spanish with the smaller companies. I eventually found a spot with 3 other Aussies for a good price with an English speaking tour guide. I also ran into the English guys a few times. That night some more Frenchies cooked for me and gave me beers and wine (they really are everywhere).

The next morning I met the other Aussies (Dylan, Harry & Michael) along with our tour guide/cook Ely (aka Mamasita) and our driver Leo (only speaks Spanish). It was an awesome group and before lunch we had already seen some really cool sights and lots of lamas.

The colours of these decorations represent the owner.

Lamas

Leo with our Car

We stopped for lunch in a small town. Mamasita really fed us. It was a massive 3 course meal that we could not finish. The town was really cool and they had a donation box in the centre to build a school.

The Convoy - Maybe 20 cars a day do this trip in EACH direction.

The Church

With our bellies full we were soon off again. Dylan, Michael & Harry were really cool chilled out Australians from Perth even though they didn't speak a word of Spanish. We had some pretty similar experiences and thoughts of travelling Argentina and a lot of laughs on this tour of Bolivia.

We were soon at over 4,850m in Altitude. Dylan wasn't feeling so great so he stayed in the car while the rest of us jumped out to take photos and enjoy the views.

Altitude, A Frozen Lake and Mountains

4,855 Metres above Sea Level... A new record!

We soon made our way to a small town to spend the night. The 4 four of us went out and explored and eventually found a group of 4 teenagers playing soccer. We challenged them to a game at 4,200m. Dylan wasn't feeling good and didn't want to play so I told him to just go in goals. We were 1-all after 10 mins and completely wrecked. The young Bolivians had no idea what was wrong with us... I explained in Spanish that we can't handle the altitude after we gave up.

After returning to our new home we sat at our dinner table next to a table of 4 French girls. The 4 of us coughing non stop wasn't the sexiest thing in the world. Harry and I soon recovered but Dylan and Michael were no good. Dylan started to turn blue in his lips and fingers and went to bed without eating. The rest of us ate another massive 3 course meal.

After going to bed Mamasita came in with Coca tea for all of us. Coca leaves are only about 1% cocaine and it has been Inka tradition to make tea from the leaves for hundreds of years. It is one of the few things that helps with altitude. Dylan was on the wrong end of a few jokes (like borrowing one of our ski masks... so we didn't have to see his face)... When Mamasita returned to collect the cups she gave the 4 of us hot water bottles for out feet and turned out the light. She also said she would take Dylan to a clinic first thing in the morning.

In the morning the Dylan seemed good. He no longer looked like a ghost, he had his appetite back and said he was fine. The boys got Mamasita to translate some "altitude"sickness pills they had bought... which were for people who were scared of heights not for altitude sickness. Dylan didn't want  to visit a clinic so we continued.

The first stop were old ruins abandoned hundreds of years earlier.

The next stop was another frozen lake. The English guys from Tilcara were in 2 other 4WDs... One of them fell through the ice. His new traditional Bolivian outfit was quite interesting.

Trent on Ice

We eventually made it to a hot spring at about 5,000m above sea level. Dylan started to feel a bit off again.The rest of us went in the hot spring while Mamasita made lunch. There were about 10 other groups with us. Each group has their own cook and driver. I had a beer during lunch which was my first lesson about the effects of altitude on pouring beers (all head).

The Hot Spring with Frozen Lakes Behind

Dylan barely ate but kept saying he was fine.

We were soon back in the car we stopped to look at more lamas with stunning back drops.

I love this photo

Our next stop was the Salvadore Dali Desert (the surrealism painter). On the way there I was in the far back next to Dylan. He started making funny noises but was fully conscious. I asked if he was okay and he said yes. I told the others he was no good. They starting talking to him and he was responding fine but made random funny noises whenever he wasn't talking. Michael wasn't feeling great either.

Harry and I jumped out to snap some quick photos.

You can't capture the real beauty of this place in a photo

Those little mounds before the mountain are huge in person

We were now quite worried about Dylan. Mamasita suggested we cut our trip short by 2 days and get him to a doctor. We definitely all agreed. But first Mamasita said she will take him out to get some air while the rest of us race in the 4WD to see one last sight... Laguna Verde (The Green Lagoon).

Laguna Verde was at 5,000m in altitude with the volcano behind reaching above 6,000m.

One of the Best Photos I've ever took

On the way back to find Mamasita and Dylan we saw a fox in the middle of the desert. I have no idea what it eats.

Dylan was in terrible shape when we met back up. He couldn't walk and was having trouble breathing. We raced 2 hours in the car to Villa Mar. Dylan was very out of it and taking really short and fast breaths. I kept telling him to fill up his lungs but he didn't seem to be able to do it. He was now really only responding to his name with mumbling "yeah" and "I'm Alright".

We eventually made it to Villa Mar. The guys were struggling a bit to get Dylan out of the car. They were not in great shape themselves from the altitude. I told them to move and put him straight on my shoulders and ran up the stairs of the doctors and dumped him in the bed. My legs almost gave way before I made it because of the altitude.

I took 1 photo outside.

I planned to hike this mountain if we were staying the night.

The doctor gave Dylan oxygen and a shot of penicillin in the bum cheek. The oxygen made him become responsive again. He started coughing up orange liquid into a cup. Maybe only about 20ml, not a lot but we all new it was blood mixed with another liquid. The Doctor thought he might have pneumonia but I now knew what was wrong with him... High-Altitude Induced Pulmonary Oedema.

I didn't know the exact name of it and had done very little reading of the 3 types of altitude sickness before this tour but I remember lungs filling with blood was one of the types. I still believed he would be fine. The doctor said he needs a hospital with closest one being over 4 hours away in Uyuni.

It was now dark and we were racing through the Bolivian desert. Michael and Harry wanted Leo to drive faster but it was dark and these were dangerous roads so I was happy with his speed since an accident would be the worst possible outcome for everyone.

We stopped at another doctor along the way who gave him oxygen, tablets and observed him for 1 hour. This doctor misdiagnosed him big time and took an hour of time. He had bikini calendars over his office, which I thought was an interesting choice for a doctor. Leo and I were joking about it. I also saw many posters about Tuberculosis vaccinations, I asked Leo if it was common in Bolivia, "yes"was his response, I never had any shots for anything before leaving Aus but a minor concern with the current situation.

We raced another hour to the city of Uyuni and eventually found the private hospital that seemed deserted. His doctor was the prettiest Bolivian that I had seen so we were making jokes that he had planned the whole thing. Dylan seemed not fully aware of what was happening around him but very nervous. Mamasita asked if he was nervous and he said a little. I told her that means a lot in Australian and Dylan was always brushing everything off the whole time.

Michael, Leo and I went to hotel to sleep. The plan was for Leo to take me to the Salt Flats in the morning while the others stay at the hospital. Leo knocked on the door of Michael and I at 3am. I had to translate to Michael that Dylan wasn't reacting to the antibiotics and was deteriorating so we had to go back to the hospital now.

When we arrived at the hospital Dylan had just come out of X-Ray, he only had 10-20% capacity left in both lungs. They said they don't have the equipment and knowledge to treat him there. He needed a lung specialist. He required a 4 hour $1000 ambulance ride to Sucre. Harry paid and we talked the doctors into letting both Harry and Michael squeeze into the ambulance after them repeatedly saying they could only take 1. They also said that they would stop at Potosi on the way if they need to.

I said goodbye and that I would see them in the hospital in Sucre in 3 days.

After a few hours sleep Mamasita, Leo and I did the salt flat tour of Salar de Uyuni which I will cover in a separate post. After the tour we received news that Dylan had died 30 minutes outside of Potosi.

Rest In Peace Dylan Christopher Harris.

Dylan was the youngest of the 4 of us and was a very fit and healthy 25 year old Australian from Perth. He was taken far too young in what were very preventable circumstances and we should have acted much faster. Hindsight can be a good thing but we are still all partly responsible for his death and it should never have occurred.

To this day I still have 3 names in my tablet on a post it note.

Dylan Christopher Harris
Harry Webster
Michael Schalk

But I will never add the last two on Facebook. I've wanted to contact them a few times but I have no idea what to say and the only memories they have of me are linked to 2 days they would definitely prefer to forget. I have not spoken to either of them since Dylan died. I will write about my visit to the hospital in Potosi in my next post.

Lessons Learnt:
Altitude can be very Dangerous.
Bolivia is Beautiful.
Storage of meat in Bolivia usually means sitting in the sun.
Supermarkets aren't a thing in Bolivia, markets stands are everything.
Lamas are everywhere.
Amazing things can turn bad very quickly.
Bolivia surprisingly has good beer.
In the desert you are hours away from help.
Doctors in small towns of poor countries my not be helpful... Feel very privileged to live in a first world country. 

Tilcara, Argentina: Friends, Hiking, Llamas, Salt Flats, Hitchhiking and Cooking

Upon waiting for my bus from Salta to Tilcara I met 2 awesome Argentineans making the same trip, Mauro & Ale (Alejandra). Mauro had actually wrote to me on Couchsurfing to meet up in Tucumán. I utilised their local skills for the hostel search. They walked into a few hostels to scope out prices as well as the office of tourism for the locations of the hostels, general prices and a recommendation. We eventually found the best hostel which was also one of the cheapest. I immediately recognised a French guy, Arthur (say that again in your head but with a French accent), he was in my dorm room for a night in Salta and we had toured the city centre together. We all formed a little family that was 4 Argentineans, 3 French and 1 terrible Spanish speaking Aussie (me).

Tilcara is a very little town with less than 6,000 inhabitants in the province of Jujuy which borders Bolivia to the north and is surrounded by the province of Salta on all other sides. Tilcara sits at about 2,500m above sea level, the beginning of my altitude acclimatisation. The locals are very traditional selling crafts on the street, raising lamas and are definitely decedents of the Inka empire not European. However, I was here for the nature, ever since an Argentinean girl in Bariloche told me about this place nearly 3 months earlier and showed me photos of Siete Colores (7 Colours) and Salinas Grandes (Salt Flats) this place was on my must see list.

That afternoon I had a lunch and beers with Mauro before checking out the local markets. Argentina is a reasonably cheap country but this region is crazy cheap for food. Afterwards we had a big family dinner with beers. The dinner was a lama (llama in Spanish, pronounced Yarma in normal Spanish and Chjarma in Argentinean Spanish) stew with lentils and vegies. It cost all of us about $1.50 each and I went back for 3rds with my plate.

Alexia, Mauro, Ale, Arthur, Mathieu, Agustina, Carli & I

The next morning we got up early to for our hike to Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat and a less impressive version of Iguazú's Garganta del Diablo). It was a long hike and we must of reached 3,000m in altitude before descending into the stream of the waterfall.

A Brazilian guy joined the family

My happy face

Arthur

Our Break with the Flag of the Imperial Inka on the ground.

I'm there somewhere

This one is not so fake. It's a sloped cliff with little rocks and cacti hanging out.

Enjoying the Spray

During the hike I ran into 2 Argentinean girls, Marianela & Cande (renamed to Mary and Candy) that I shared my dorm room with in Salta after Arthur, Mauro also knew them from a trip in Salta... Small World! On the way home we stopped in at a lady's house/outdoor restaurant for lunch. This is where I tried Quinoa for the first time (it's a traditional food here not some new health fad). I had Quinoa by itself, Quinoa & Cheese empanadas and Quinoa and Cheese tortilla. Lunch was followed by the long walk home passing some of the biggest cacti that I have seen in my life.

Lunchtime!

The Oven and the Chef behind me.

Size Matters

This night would be pizza night, again costing us less than $2 each for as much pizza as you can eat. We made the dough ourselves (by we I mean the French & Argentineans). Beers were still the standard price of around $1 for a 1 litre bottle so we spent more on alcohol than food every night. We ended up at another hostel for dancing where we requested the Macarena (I actually never really realised it was in Spanish until this night)... I also became a pole dancer.

The next morning we were up early to get a bus to Purmamarca for the day, we were now a group of 9 with another Aussie joining us. We explored the very touristic town centre before some of us headed off for a much bigger hike in search of the best view for Siete Colores... We found it!

The non-touristic back streets

Amedeo (new aussie), Mauro, Brazilian guy, Arthur and I.

Quebrada de Siete Colores

After finding the best photo spot Mauro returned to find the girls while the rest of us continued our hike getting higher and higher. The different colours and formations were pretty impressive.

Don't act like you're not impressed

We took the short way down by going through a crevasse with sliding rocks. It was good fun but could have easily turned to disaster.

The very top of the crevasse. Some parts were quite vertical.

After returning to the village of Purmamarca I found Mauro, Agustina and Carli. Lucky for me they hadn't left to the Salt flats yet. We also met an awesome American couple Becca & Alex. The 6 of us went to in two taxis to Salinas Grandes, the 3rd largest salt flats in the world. The drive there was amazing reaching altitudes of over 4,000m. This would be my first time surpassing 4,000m.

4,170 Metres... My record at the time... before the car drove a bit higher. This marks the level of the Salt Flats not the highest point.

The winding road to the right.

It was now time for the Salt Flats. This was a practise for me as my plans were to visit the world's largest salt flats in Bolivia a week later.

Aussie in a Bottle!

The girls are small in Argentina

Meditating Mauro

Agustina on Traditional Argentinean Transport

Had to be Tried... Interesting Shadow

Agustina & I Shadow Dancing

After our photo shoots it was time to return to Purmamarca but not without a bag of salt for the Asados. Mauro decided to stick around for small music festival while Agustina, Carli and I decided to Hitchhike back to Tilcara. This would be their first time hitchhiking in their life and my first time hitchhiking in South America. We received a lift from a guy in a camper with a dog named Heineken. He happened to be from the same town Agustina & Carli were originally from.

Hitchhiking!... Hacer Dedo!

 We made it back in time for another family dinner this time with a bigger family. Agustina's list said Francia 4, Argentina 4, Trent 1 which somehow equalled 11. There were 6 French in the end.

The next day was THE FINAL OF THE WORLD CUP. Germany vs Argentina!!! I had learnt the song made about Argentina taking the world cup in Brasil that had been sung all over Argentina for the last month.

Basil decime que se siente, Tener en casa a tu papá
Te juro que aunque pasen los años nunca nos vamos a olvidar
Que Maradona te gambeteo, que el Cani te vacunó
Estas llorando desde Italia hasta hoy
A Messi lo vas a ver, la copa nos va a traer
Maradona es mas grande que Pele.

My Translation (some of this song is slang):
Brazil tell me how it feels, having your dad home
I swear that even if the years go by, we will never forget
Maradona tricked you, Cani beat you
You have been crying since Italy until today
You will see Messi, we will take the cup
Maradona is bigger than Pele.

The common room of the hostel had about 60 people watching and cheering for the game. I had been in Argentina for 3 months now cheering on Argentina every time they played so it meant a lot to me as well. The result... Germany scored the only goal of the match in the last minute of the second half of overtime. Argentina had many more scoring opportunities during the match and I doubt anyone would disagree that they played better but these things happen. It was the first time that I had experienced this sort of silence in Argentina. Everyone seemed to be in disbelief and shocked.

Mauro had been asking everyone to put in for an Asado (BBQ) for dinner that night. 40 people must have chucked in. Mauro cooked an amazing asado for the entire hostel. It was an awesome night with dancing, guitars and lots of alcohol and meat.

The next day would be my last in Argentina. Mauro, Ale, Agustina, Carli & I checked out of the hostel and made our way to the town of Humahuaca. We found a hostel before exploring the town. It was a very beautiful little town.

After lunch and exploring the town the 5 of us jumped in a 4WD taxi to visit a very impressive mountain. We went to an altitude of 4,600m. I was feeling very light headed with walking becoming difficult... However, the sight was amazing!

I somehow ended up with a white hat.

Once returning Ale said goodbye to make her long journey back to Santa Fé.

It was my turn to cook on this night for the 4 of us plus 1 staff member of the new hostel. My dish was nicknamed Salsa de Trent.

Pasta with a shitload of vegies and meat

The next morning I said my goodbyes and hopped on a bus to Bolivia. This was an amazing 5 nights in the province of Jujuy with really awesome people.

After 3 months in Argentina, one of the most amazing countries I have ever been to, my time had come to an end. This country had definitely changed who I am.

Next stop Tupiza, Bolivia!

Lessons Learnt:
The most beautiful places aren't always the most touristic.
Argentineans are incredibly warm people.
I love cooking, eating and drinking with awesome people.
Communal dinners are so cheap.
My Spanish is terrible.
My French is worse.