La Provincia de Jujuy

Where do I begin? Today was such a jam-packed fun-filled day I don’t think I’ll be able to recall it all. This excursion had “una ensalada” of people, as our guide Antonio put it. There were 6 Argentineans, 3 girls from Germany (who stuck together and arrived 40 minutes late to one of our meeting points, which limited our time at the church in the pueblito Uquia, which is only open for 1.5 hours every afternoon), 2 girls from Italy, 1 guy from Portugal, and me. We only conversed in Spanish, and I learned how to understand Spanish spoken with an Italian accent—it also was more interesting since their Spanish ability was similar to mine, so we each struggled with different types of language barriers. One of the Argentinean women had an American husband (from Arizona) who unfortunately didn’t go on the trip because he was tired…so I never got to meet him. But I did wander around with the wife and we enjoyed being the “single” women.

Our guide Antonio was funny to listen to because he loved to tell stories about past trips. As they are often the scapegoat, Antonio loved to make fun of the French. “Antonio, excuse moi, but the distance is 14km not 11km.” According to Antonio, the French treat their guide books like the Bible, and would counter any fact or numerical value that Antonio would cite. One time, he got into an argument with them to explain why it really is 11km and not 14km. They finally realized their misunderstanding and marked in the guidebook the mistake and said they would contact the company when they returned home, so future readers aren’t given the wrong information. He also recalled a story where a Japanese group didn’t know you don’t eat the outside of una humita or un tamal, and one Japanese lady had quite an experience. The outside of these entradas is similar to (or is) cornhusk (i.e. NOT to be eaten). So Antonio explained that now each time he stops to eat with a group, he clarifies that one should only eat the INSIDES of these courses.

We stopped at Purmamarca, Tilcara, Humahuaca, Uquia, Maimara, and San Salvador de Jujuy. We spent an average of 30 minutes at each site, so the pictures were taken quickly and one didn’t have time to think about whether or not they wanted to buy something. I felt so rushed.

Although the pace was a little fast, it was great to see so many places in one day, and each city had its own “special” thing. Purmamarca had a big feria (but so did all of them), Tilcara was home to the aborigine population that was holding a festival for Santa Ana, and all of the proceeds of buying trinkets there kept the indigenous population alive. We ate lunch in Humahuaca and were serenaded by a band with Argentinean instruments. The owner even played the accordion, and then demonstrated this oddly shaped horn, unique to Jujuy. It had a horribly loud, obnoxious sound—but hey, if its cultural, why not try to enjoy it? There was also a famous statue of Jujuy’s independence, and a sculpture of La Pachamama (Mother Earth—whose “day” is August 2nd this year). Uquia has a church with the famous paintings of the “Angeles Arcabuceros” (Armed Angels). They are literally paintings of angels with guns. Maimara was a quick roadside stop to take pictures of the cemetery. The cemeteries are almost always on the highest hill of a town; since the souls were closer to heaven, they believed they would arrive faster. Also, if any horrible weather came about, such as a flood, the cemetery wouldn’t be harmed. San Salvador de Jujuy is the province’s capital. We explored the church and the tiny feria.

There isn’t one thing that stood out, but overall it was a great trip and I met a lot of interesting people. One of the Italians and the guy from Portugal have both studied in Spain through Erasmus, and have visited Salamanca—so it brought back a few memories from the wonders of Spain. We also all enjoyed the company of a 10-year old, Ignacio (Nacho) who was traveling with his mom. He loved trying to learn different words in all of our first languages—how fun!

As a quick negative side note, still no news from Valeria.