Time to cross a boarder again! After only a couple of days in Chile, we took a bus to Purmamarca, Argentina. Chile, we will be back soon! The bus ride was…long and a little depressing in the end: We had left with bright blue skies and suddenly found ourselves in fog so thick the bus driver almost couldn’t see where he was going. We arrived in Purmamarca in drizzling rain and it took us ages to find an ok place to stay. Not a good start… but it got better! Much better actually. Next morning we woke up to once again blue sky and sunshine. Yay! Time to explore the colourful hills around Purmamarca that the region is known for. First, we climbed up a hill on the other side of the river where we got the typical view of Purmamarca with the 7-colour mountain in the back. Really nice!

It reminded us a little of Tupiza, although Tupiza was bigger of course. Once again, we really liked the rocky landscape, so we continued our exploration on the village side of the river, climbing up various hills and walking the much recommended Paseo de los Colorados, a dirt road that leads in a half circle behind the village, passing by lots of cool red and colourful rocks.

Purmamarca itself is a cute little village, however a bit more touristy than expected, especially when all the tour busses roll in. There isn’t a whole lot to do and see – we were done with our hikes after half a day, so spent the rest of the day chilling in the sun with some beers. Not too bad either!

The day after, we left for Salta, which took us a good part of the day again as we had to go to Jujuy first and change there. In Salta, we spent two rather relaxed days exploring the small center with its typical plaza and picturesque churches.

We also took the cable car up Cerro San Bernardo. Unfortunately, late afternoon is not a good time to go since you’ll have the sun against you when taking pictures. Still, we always enjoy viewpoints, so it was good to do and see!

The rest of the time in Salta, we took it a bit slower than usual, going out for drinks with a couple we met, eating delicious empanadas and testing one of the famous pay-per-kilo restaurants for the first time. Salta was a nice stop, even though not a very special one, and from here we took our yet longest bus ride of this trip – 18 h to Mendoza.