Drive to and around Jujuy

Sa 2.2.13

• today was the windy, queasy, motion-sickness-induced drive (at least for me)
• the more scenic route that we took from Salta City to Jujuy City was definitely scenic, but it was up, down, curve left, curve right...super nauseating, but like our other drives, beautiful   

all along the side of the road...just hanging out

• we really enjoyed the constantly changing scenery...here it seems jungle-like

• here, more mountain-y, forest-y

• this part reminded me of Kauai where Jurassic Park was filmed

• then there were canyon-like parts

• and finally what we had heard all about...the colorful hills

• a little farmland thrown in there for good measure

• we checked into our hotel, just outside of Tilcara (Sumaj Pacha...more on this gem later in this post)

• dad tested out the pool

• then we hit the road again to visit the little town of Humahuaca

• I organized another horse procession for my mom...it was once again perfect timing...trotting right on through as we arrived

• I also had organized these different kids' bands to bang on their drums a bit in the main square

• they were actually making all that noise for this special lady:

• then we plodded our way up Humahuaca's version of the Spanish Steps to this statue: Héroes de la Independencia 

• where we were greeted with a beautiful view of the town and beyond

• then we headed back toward Tilcara for dinner, but made a few stops along the way

• one stop to snap a quick photo of this huge guanaco

• and second to get a picture with this enormous sundial...Trópico de Capricornio (according to Wikipedia, the Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern Tropic marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which he Sun can be directly overhead...too bad the sun was almost down when we were there)

• after sort of a sad attempt to see the Garganta del Diablo and waterfalls (you should have seen how crazy bad the roads were...and we would've had to hike in the dark), we found a recommended peña in Tilcara to listen to music and have dinner, Peña Altitud
• it was still a bit early for dinner time by local standards (8:30 maybe?) so the place was pretty dead...we did have some live music though!
• this guy had several different pan flutes and could really rock out with them

• Jake and Kelly got matching hats enjoying some local Torrontés (some other family members may have received these as gifts...consider yourselves very cool)

• not sure if I've ever written about milanesa, but it's basically a patty or schnitzel...flattened meat, breaded, and either baked or fried...people LOVE them in this country...my students always bring them for lunch
• anyway, I had to try the llama milanesa...milanesa  in general is still not my favorite, but this one wasn't too bad

• now to tell you a bit about Sumaj Pacha
• from their site, it really looks pretty great, right?  we thought so too when we booked...reasonable prices, nice spaces, good location
• but...when we first checked in, I was completely grossed out by the number of flies in our cabaña, so my mom and I went on a killing spree, using my Runner's World magazine to swat as many as we could before leaving...then we continued when we got home before bed 
• we had no AC so it was pretty stuffy, but we were afraid to open the non-screened windows, thinking we'd have more flies...
• when we got back after dinner, Jake wanted to pay since we knew we were trying to take off by 6am the next morning
• the owner told Jake something like, "Look at me.  I'm drunk.  It's my birthday. I'm in no state to settle the bill and to figure out exchange rates.  Come see me in the morning."
• the guy was having his birthday party in the hotel's office cabaña amongst all the other guests' cabañas
• so we went to our rooms...had a dribbling, cold or non-functioning shower, and a toilet that was about to wobble over...and didn't flush
• then we went to bed...well some of us
• others did not sleep at all due to the party's loud music

Su 2.3.13

• when we got up to pay at 6am, the owner was semi-passed out in a chair in the office, barely able to hold his head up, floating in and out of consciousness, his friends desperately attempting to stretch the party longer by propping the birthday boy up in a chair
• so here was Jake, with my dad and Pat standing by him as moral support aka intimidation factor, trying to explain (in Spanish) to his drunk (but standing and able to speak) friends that we weren't about to pay in full for a night of no sleep and non-funcitoning facilities
• the friends were pretty "happy-drunk/high" so they didn't get right away why we were upset
• when they finally got it, they of course argued that we should pay something since we used the facilities to sleep...Jake said, "With all the noise, it would have been better to sleep on the street."
• it was going nowhere because they didn't know how to figure it out, they kept trying to wake their friend up, the didn't know what to do, but none of them seemed too concerned
• so Jake had to do it for them
• he asked, "Where is the receipt book because I need to put together an invoice."
• but instead, Jake had to hand write two copies of an invoice, his "attempt to approximate legal contract and proof of payment"
• then had one of his drunk friends sign

so official, so professional, so legal

• we ended up giving them more than they deserve in money, and on our Booking.com review
• check it out here: Jake's is the "Anonymous" with 5.4 rating...its's pretty funny, well NOW it is
• accommodations score: 4 for 5 (darn! we were so close to a perfect score!)