big adventure day! :)

Although I am knocking on wood while I say this because my trip is not quite over yet, we have had the best luck on our trip to the north. Everything just seemed to work out just right and I can’t even remember all the times we have said, “wow, that was lucky of us!” Everything from bus schedules, money issues (that I won’t expand on), hostels, and transportation…. Add them all together and it is evident that we have a few guardian angels watching over us.
Our big tour from the city of Salta was going even further north to the “Salinas Grandes” or salt flats and then on to the tiny, quaint town of Pumamarca. We spent awhile trying to figure out how to do this trip on our own without taking a tour group but in the end we figured out that the extra $15 we might spend on a tour would be totally worth not getting lost and having to change buses 3 times. At 7am sharp our tour minibus pulled up to our hostel and we were off, (7am is VERY early in south america knowing that dinner is not even eaten until 10pm or so) We were half asleep but it would be a shame to miss the view! Before we even left the city our tour, along with every other tour going to the salt flats stopped at this one store to buy coca leaves. Yes this sounds strange and slightly illegal but we were strongly required to put 10-15 leaves in the side of our mouths 20 minutes before we began the accent to the salt flats. Since the salt flats we at around 4000 meters, they said that one could get very sick from the altitude if youe are not accostumed to it. Since my own “near death experience” with the altitude in Bolivia 3 years ago Giorgia and I followed instructions! You don’t chew or swallow the leaves or anything, you just swallow the juices as the leaves sit in your mouth – it’s almost like drinking a few sodas or coffee as the caffine increases your heart rate and makes our blood run faster. The long trip up to the salt flats passed quickly because there were so many sights to see. We pasted through another cloud forest where our guide said that it never rains – it is just always very very green and lush because of the moisture that the clouds bring. There was grass growing on the trees! It was pretty cool. And… our guide said that there were a bunch of tiny monkeys living in these forests along with many other types of wild life. The first question Giorgia asked was if I thought that these were the types of trees that Tarzan would use… and yes, I was thinking the same thing! Maybe that’s why we get along so well  Later on the journey we were passing through Jujuey and our guide was explaining the history of the valley to us and how every group of people tried to dominate this valley because it was one of the only passages from the north to the south, it was very interesting and I was very proud of myself that I was able to understand the Spanish  it’s paying off! Whoop whoop!!! Por fin! (at last!)
We finally started the climb up to the salt flats and every jammed the leaves into their mouths. The view was amazing. All of these incredible moutains that I have been seeing this week makes me think of of how my climbing partners would love it here! We kept ascending and curving back and forth and Giorgia looked over at one of the French girls from our tour because she was making a funny sound and realized that she was not well at all. She was all clammy and not responsive. We quickly put her feet up and put a wet cloth on the back of her neck and hurried down the mountain. As soon as she was responsive she drank a little sip of water and then our guide asked if anyone had any sugar with them. Don don don don!!!! Good thing Giorgia and I never leave home without chocolate in our bags! She got a little better as the time went on, but she was too weak to get out of the bus when we got to the salt flats which was sad. Kind of scary. When I get home, if I’m not going to take and EMT class I at least want to buy and read an “in case of emergency” wilderness book! I hate not knowing exactly what to do!
The salt flats were amazing. Although I have already been to the largest salt flats in the world when I visited Bolivia, salt flats are salt flats and are always breath taking. We had a lot of fun taking pictures where you can make it seem like someone is standing in your hand by having the person stand in your background. And of course we had to do the jumping pictures… fun times! I bought a little stone picture that the local people there were selling. The locals were covered from head to toe in clothing because the sun is so reflective there… we were only allowed to stay on the salt flats for 30 minutes because the sun was so strong. It is a hard life they lead there, that’s for sure. On the way back, more people got sick because they took their coca leaves out! Our guide told us a cool trick (whether or not it is true I have no idea) that if you feel woozy you should put a pebble under your tongue from the altitude that you are at. By the time we were down the mountain I had both rocks and leaves in my mouth! No sticks or dirt though 
We stopped in Pumamarca for lunch. This town almost blends in with its surroundings as everything is made out of stone/mud bricks from the land. In this town was the mountain of 7 colors. It was SO cool! Although I’m sure that if I look hard enough at anything I could see 7 colors… but this was completely obvious to everyone. How lucky to have this in your backyard! Although it was a cute little town, I could not imagine life there.
We arrived back in Salta around 8 pm that night at were needless to say very tired! It was a wonderful day to say the least! We revived ourselves with coconut and lemon pie ice cream there soon after  Oh how I will miss Giorgia! I’ve never met someone who loves ice cream as much as I do!
The next day was our last half day of our travels. We spent it walking around the beautiful city, and making sure to take it all in. I went to the supermarket and bought the dulce de leche and mate tea that can only be found in Argentina and then at 4pm we boarding our bus.
4 hours from Salta to Tucamon, 13 hours to Mendoza, 9 hours to Santiago, and finally another 1 ½ to Vina del Mar. Yes, that’s right. I spent close to 30 hours in a bus and by the end of it I was ready to jump. By taking the bus it saved me probably 300 bucks…. But it was painful.