Sorry Skipped to Tilcara

Hi Folks:
Sorry that I am a little slow with this entry as I promised one from Salta. After a long, but relatively quick bus ride from Resistancia, we arrived early (6am) in Salta. It appears that Resistancia was as far South as we will get on this trip, as we turn North from here.
Salta is a very beautiful city, in a valley surrounded by hills.
As usual, following the guide in the ¨wee¨hours of the morning, we ended up at the Hotel Colonial, which, while perfectly placed on the main square, was more than three times the cost in the guide. We have come to expect an increase, but the Argentine increases are ridiculous. The hotel had everything; computer, AC, TV (Joy hates the last 2) and breakfast (Joy´s favourite) included, so we stayed. That and the early morning arrival.
The next day we toured the many historical and art museos, although we skipped the one with the 3 mummies (only one on show at a time) that had been found in the high mountains (virgin sacrifices you know). Salta has 2 very interesting aspects; one good and one bad. They have 2 parallel streets blocked off as pedestrian malls (about three blocks each) near the central square. People go around and around on these and there is always something happening. You can have a mime or Barney the dinosaur. Last night we had these 2 young guys doing an impromptu gymnastic show with some breakdancing thrown in. Watching the one young fellow do ¨no hand¨cartwheels on concrete was enough to draw a gasp out of even a hardened traveller like our Joy. He also had his shirt rolled up to show that his BFI was pretty darned good! Joy appreciated that.
The high-light of the first day was Joy seducing (sorry kids) me onto the gondola for the ride up Cerro San Bernardino, which over-looks the city. I want it on record that I did not take one of Dr. Karen´s flying pills nor any rum (haven´t been able to find that yet). I made it and quite enjoyed it as long as I looked forward. We did have to walk down, though. Yesterday, Joy did a beautiful painting of one of the many gorgeous balconies in this very colonial city. After we solved the mysteries of the municipal bus routes to go to the Artisan market. That brings me to the other thing about Salta. The standard fare for a bus anywhere in the city is 1peso and 25 centavos. But it is almost impossible to get a 25 centavo piece, so many tourists end up paying 1 peso and 50 centavos. There either should be more 25 centavo pieces in circulation, or they should change the rate. That is my rant for the day!
This morning we were up early to get the bus to San Francisco de Jujuy which everyone just calls Jujuy, which is pronounce ¨Who-whooie¨. Not certain what the city fathers were on to come up with that. Maybe my ethnocentricity is showing, but .......... We got our tickets and found our bus, loaded our bags and then located our seats. One was upstairs at the back and one was downstairs. When I pointed it out, I was told to sit anywhere. As there were only 2 others on the bus and it was 25 minutes to departure, I found that strange. About 2 minutes later, we pulled away from the dock and were on our way with the downstairs of one of those bigs 2 floor buses to ourselves. Talk about the lap of luxury. Then there were no stops and we were in Jujuy in an hour and a half.
With a one hour lay-over we were on our way to Tilcara, which the guide said was beautiful and an artists colony to boot. When we got here we found party central as the place was filled with young Argentinian hikers. The scenery here and on the way here is spectacular and the town is more our size, but prices are very high and it is not our scene. We are in a beautiful place that we cannot afford, but we will try another day and see, before moving on toward Bolivia.
Time for siesta. The weather cooled down and they have Guilmes Red cervasa here which is really good. Oh yes, despite the weather cooling somewhat, it is still in the eighties, so a cervasa break is essential!
Jim