Backdated from Friday, April 22, 2005 12:05pm (mined from paper journal.)

Bus through Iturbe from Humahuaca to Iruya, Jujuy/Salta, Argentina.

I am leaning on Natalia´s shoulder, not so much from fatigue as the
tall boy´s backpack, which has taken up the majority of my headspace.
My leg is stretched over my own bag - ¨por las dudas¨ as Argentines
are fond of saying. Just in case.

A subtle bitter-green flavour saturates my senses as I run my tongue
over the leaf folded between my cheek and my gums. I´ve become
surprisingly accustomed to the taste since Andres, our guide in
Tilcara, strongly recommended that we ¨cocaine¨ ourselves to avoid the
effects of the altitude as we hiked to about 2800m about sea level
into La Garganta de Diablo (the Throat of the Devil) and Las Cuevas de
Waira (the Caves of Waira). When in Jujuy...

This bumpy ride will have us peaking at El Abra de Condor, 4000m, the
border to the province of Salta. I´m grateful to have a seat at all.
Had we left Humauhaca any later, we wouldn´t be so lucky. There are
dozens of standing passengers filling the ailsles, some disembarking
at various points in the three hour journey, while others continue to
get on at random places on the highway.

The treacherous dirt road winds through some of the most diverse and
eye-catching territories in the region. Multicoloured mountains,
cliffs and other curious formations typical of the arid zone erupt
from shrubby meadows liberally peppered with rocks and cacti,
descending into rolling green valleys disected by river beds that
suddenly cut straight down through curvy scenery to hundreds of metres
of vertical drop.

A mother tries to balance her boys, both apparently still under two
years old, in front of her, trying to appease their cries for
attention with jello and orange slices. A slew of school children
boards and takes over any left over breathing room we hadn´t been
fully appreciating. A couple of them look down at the guide book on my
lap and start giggling, whispering loudly. The perception that I don´t
understand is obvious.

I surprise them by striking up a conversation in Spanish, and ask them
if they understand English. They giggle more. I pass them the book…