Hola Amigos y Familia.

So I´m now in Jujuy even though the location says Salta. Jujuy is only two hours north of Salta. My last blog ended in Cordoba. Since then i have travelled north through Tucuman, then onto Salta today Jujuy, tomorrow I think the small town of Iruya then back to humauaca then La quiaca then over the border into Bolivia!

The north of Argentina has been different only in the fact that the places i have been have been much smaller than that of Cordoba and Buenos Aires. Like much of Australia there are big stretches of very unexciting ´country side´ with a few sad looking villages and towns thrown in along the way. I say sad becuase they have all been cement towns...cement houses or brick houses with cement paths and cement roads...there is a layer of dirt over everything, this includes the few trees scattered throughout the streets, which makes everything dull. I think the fact that it is winter is not helping as the little grass that is on the sidewalks and parks is dead. To add is a another layer of rubbish everywhere. (the smaller towns dont seem to employ people to pick up after everyone) so dirt roads boast a sure sign of globalisation...squashed coke and sprite bottles and numerous plastic bags. Plastic bags are EVERYWHERE. - They use plastic bags for EVERYTHING here and i have been getting lots of stares when i say ´no necessito´.

As the towns get bigger the less I seem to notice the rubbish and dirt although this was an exception for Tucuman which was a dull sad city that i did not care for at all...Salta was quite big and very pretty. This far north is a bit more exciting landscape wise than further south. The mountains begin around Salta and they are beautiful mountains with valleys between that have water flowing through them in summer (I have posted pictures). I played tourist for the first time when I arrived in Salta - I visited Cafayate a town about two hours south of Salta. I did a tour with a number of much older wealthy Argentinian couples.I didnt mind doing it by myself as i was there purely to enjoy the amazing scenery. We visited a number of little stops on the way to Cafayate and back. One of which was a hole in a mountain, almost a gorge? NOt sure how to explain it any better...It acted as a natural microphone and very touristy so bands and singers often go there to perfom and busk for passing tourists.

There is a mountain on the outkirts of town that a fellow AUstralian girl and i climbed twice for the veiw and exersise, on the way down the the mountain the second time we discovered the Salta cemetary or the ´City of the Dead´ which was incredibly creepy, little houses for families bodies...there are plenty of pictures.

I also have been horse riding...gaucho style. As the scenery is so pretty around here there are plenty of horse riding opportunities at different ranches. I went to one that was recommended and run by a cheeky old man called Enrique. It was quite fun, the horses were beautiful and very well trained, and it was like riding a bike, it came to me naturally again. Our guides were traditional gauchos and they were incredible on their horses...we were able to gallop in spots if we wanted, for those without experience or confidence, the gauchos would assist... I miss riding a lot.

There are a number of small very pretty towns on the way up to the border however i am not going to stop at them. They are all very similar. Similar scenery, similar buildings, similar people...There have many moments where i could easily have been in Australia...and its surreal to see everyone speaking a different language. However this far north there are more native looking people than down south. They´re shorter, dont dress as well, are not as goodlooking and have much darker skin...I guess its just a mix of Argentina and Bolivia...

I have added a few more photos to the Cordoba album...some pictures Rodrigo and I took in the Park and San Martin Plaza in Cordoba... Oh and I ate Llama stew tonight for dinner. Was pretty good although the meat was a bit fatty.

Love Lauren