The Milliquet's

Scott woke up before sunrise and walked a short distance to watch the sunrise against the seven color hill.  It was cool in the morning but as soon as the sun crested the mountains surrounding Purmamarca the town quickly warmed.  Scott returned and slept for a little bit before we both returned to the hill.  Tori enjoyed the view from the now much more crowded viewing point.  Returing from the hill we packed our bags, checked out and found some breakfast.  After breakfast we caught a bus that took us about 45 minutes to the town of Tilcara. Tilcara was a bit more of a real city than Purmamarca, and somewhat less dusty.  After checking into our lovely hotel for the night we ventured down into town to find lunch.  Following lunch we went on a very long walk up the hills of town and across to go see the famous Devil's throat and waterfall.  A very long walk with a fair amount of climbing at around 11000 feet was tiring.  On the way back we go...

We were once again on a bus on route to Purmamarca.   Unfortunately we bought a ticket that only took us to Purmamarca Passage which is the highway crossing 2 miles outside of town.  An hour later we had finished climbing about 800 feet along the sun beaten highway and arrived in the small tourist centric town of Purmamarca.  This dusty destination is set at the foot of the famous seven color hill which we enjoyed a good look at for a section of the walk into town.  Upon arriving we struggled to get in contact with the homestay operator but after an hour of borrowing wifi and a lengthy hold with agoda to get the owners contact info we eventually were able to get settled into our small little cabin in the center of town.  We relaxed for a bit and then wandered through the center square that is surrounded by many locals selling all kinds of souvenirs and goods.  We washed our laundry in the shower and hung it out to dry before finding a small little hole...

Once again we were back on the bus this time headed for Salta, stopping in Salta in yet  another attempt to break up a long bus ride.  No problems were had on the ride and we arrived with some time in the afternoon to explore the city.  We checked out the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (High Altitude Archeological Museum) which offered a lot of history of the indigenous people and their way of life at high elevation in the Andes.  The highlights of the museum are the three mummified remains of children given as offerings to the gods thousands of years ago.  The remains are still in excellent condition due to the cold and dry air at the tops of the mountains that these children were sacrificed.  After the museum we explored more of Salta eventually finding a spot to have dinner.  Tori was smart and went to bed early while Scott ventured out for a couple pints at one of the local breweries. 

In the morning we wandered a couple miles out of town and visited a thriving goat farm.  The farm also has a few cows and sheep but prodominantly produces goat milk to create cheese.  We wandered around the property and the hundreds of goats before buying some cheese and heading back.  On the way back into town we had to get to the side of the road and avoid a herd of goats being marched toward us.  As the animals past one of the herding dogs wasnt happy that Scott wasnt joining along and nipped at Scott.  No skin was broken but its obvious why the goats dont want to be at the back of the line. After lunch we caught the tour through the Quebrada de Humahuaca.   The unreal rock formations of this area, the dozens of colors exposed in the desert climate made for several hours of enjoyable site seeing and short hikes from the tour van.  We cannot recommend people to visit this part of the world enough.  The towns are authentic and the landscap...