SATURDAY 01/01/11 – TUESDAY 01/04/11
On the first, I continued traveling north to Tilcara, Jujuy while Hillary and Jason went down to Cafayate. As great as it was to be traveling with some of my closest friends, it was a bit refreshing to be on my own again. I stayed in a wonderfully inviting hostel, Tilcara Hostel.
streets of Tilcara
la plaza principal
perros chillin' on the wall
streets of Tilcara
obviously no cumbia here
As I travel alone frequently in big cities, I usually don’t worry about going out to eat by myself or exploring the surroundings on my own, but in a small town, everyone has their group of friends or family. So, instead of immediately checking out the town, I introduced myself to the people drinking mate and discussing folklore music in the kitchen…and what a great decision it was! I met Marcia from Tucumán, Andres from Mendoza and Nahuel from Buenos Aires – they had all met in Tilcara the previous year and had reunited.
There is a different type of traveler in the northwest, as it’s a bit more rustic and while tourism is certainly growing quickly, it still maintains an authenticity. There is a great deal of Argentine backpackers – young college students traveling for a month on a budget – they are found in groups of 4-10 people, they stay at the campsites and hang out in the plaza in the afternoon. Starting in Amaicha, I started to see the same people in each town, as there’s a common traveling thread. Some travel quicker while others spend longer periods in destinations, but without fail, I crossed paths with some familiar faces in nearly every place. What’s nice, however, is that the hostels are slightly more than camping ($10 USD) and weed out these traveling bands of nearly teenagers and attract some really interesting people around my age.
Marcia, Andres and Nahuel took me right in and brought me along to a folklore concert of a couple, including Demi Carabajal from Santiago del Estero and Buenos Aires at Silviñacu. It was one of the best nights of the trip – tons of music, chacarera (form of folklore dance) and dancing and laughing.
Andres and Nahuel
me and Marcia
Paula and Mono (Raul) chacarera-ing
Marcia, Demi Carabajal and Nahuel
el grupo
La Peña Engrupo
No comments:
Post a Comment