Humahuaca - City of Optimists

We arrived in this city in the early afternoon after a 4-hour leisurely drive with many photo stops on RN 9 from Salta. Our very nice hostel is located in the upper part of the city, about a 15-minute walk from the center on the other side of the river. It is called 'Rio Grande', but it is more of a sad trickle in a huge, rocky bed.

Speaking of beds: we really struggled on the first night. Sleep was hardly possible. Just when I thought I had found a breathing rhythm that provided enough oxygen without hyperventilating, I heard Norbert snoring and of course I was wide awake again. A difference in altitude of almost 2,000 meters in one day was probably a bit too ambitious. Well, it was already better the next day and we spent the following night in Iruya, about 3 hours by bus and 'only' at an altitude of 2,700 meters. More about that in the next post.

City of Optimists, because with about 10,000 inhabitants and what feels like 1,000 hostels, hotels, hostels, hospedajes ... there are still more being built on almost every corner. I have never seen a city with so much construction activity. The 'city center' and the bus station are filled with backpackers, but as we all know, they don't spend much money. Outside the 5 to 6 blocks of the center, it was pretty quiet and we didn't get the impression that the existing accommodations (and now it's high season) were fully booked. But what isn't, may still become!

In the morning, the whole center is a huge market, where you can buy everything imaginable at countless stands, especially along the tracks of the long-closed railway line that runs through the town. In addition to the obligatory stands with 'artesanales', there is plenty of fruit and vegetables (all from the region), lots of food (empanadas, tortillas, fries, sausages, grilled food....), but also stands with 'Chinese junk' and trekking pants made in Vietnam.

An absolute must is a trip to 'Hornocal', the rock formation that is depicted on countless postcards as the image of Humahuaca. The viewpoint is only 27 km from Humahuaca and can be reached via RP 73. We (which actually means Norbert) were brave enough to drive the route, which leads to an altitude of over 4,300 meters, ourselves. And that was a good decision. Of course, there are organized tours from the city that are surely good and informative, but then you lose your independence on site. And we enjoyed that very much. But first, let's talk about the road: The road is passable (during the day and in good weather) with a 'regular car', but with caution and slowly, with many narrow and steep curves, consistently unpaved with occasional big stones in the middle of the road. The driver should not be afraid of heights and should have some courage and driving experience. Norbert definitely has that, which didn't stop me from occasionally shouting things like 'Oncoming traffic!', 'Watch out, curve', 'Please drive slowly!'.

Once we reached the top, with glorious weather, we decided to leave our hiking boots in the car and set off on our flip-flops (but it is absolutely necessary to wear a hat and bring water!) on one of the paths in the surrounding hills to explore nature a few meters away from the tourist crowds (by now some minibuses had arrived at the viewpoint). The 'few meters' turned into 3 hours. Slowly, but from hill to hill, from one beautiful view to the next. When we returned, we were already expected by 2 not very nice gentlemen from the Gendarmerie. They scolded me (since I was the first one back). What were we doing out there, who had allowed us to do that, it was forbidden and only allowed with a guide. If we got lost, if something happened to us.... well, they weren't entirely wrong. I countered that there was no prohibition or sign (maybe next year) and reassured them by pretending that I had never been out of sight of the lookout platform (with its medical support point), of course, I lied smoothly, but the two then let it go.