Backdated from Sunday, April 24, 2005 10:30am (mined from paper journal.)

Posada Palmira, Iruya, Salta, Argentina.

It´s beautiful here, but cold at night. So much that I bought a $25
peso windbreaker-fleece-lined jacket, replete with rip-off ¨Champion¨
symbol, at the Bolivia-style market, upon arrival Friday evening.

Yesterday we (me, Ariel, Natalia, and a Spanish couple: Magdala and
Maximiliana) walked with Romina, our today-turned-15-year-old guide,
from Iruya to San Isidrio, a neighbouring village about 3 tough
up-and-down hours (climbs at this altitude are killer) there and 3
more interesting back-and-forth-along-the-river (easier but wetter)
hours back

Lunch was a stop into a little home-based artisan co-op/restaurant
where there were literally no vegetarian options, so while the rest of
the group ordered (carne-filled) empanadas, I ran around the corner
with Romina to a house that I was informed doubles as a food
dispensary. I confused them by asking for a sandwich without any form
of meat. They incredulously prepared me a flesh-free, mayo-free
cheese and tomato on white focacia-type bread, and then when I saw
green peppers and offered to purchase one to have some sliced into the
mix, they reluctantly obliged.

Back in Iruya, since I´d found out along the way that she had no
special plans, we took Romina out to celebrate her birthday. Natalia
and I ducked out of the little restaurant to buy birthday candles.
Apparently, from the reactions we encountered as we ran around to
every open kiosk we could find, these are not a particularly hot item
in Iruya. We ended up settling on a pack of larger animal-fat-based
candles, one of which we stuck into a mini-flan someone had given the
sole chef/server working both the kitchen and the tables that night.
This was very lucky, as nothing on the Tina´s official ¨menu¨ - only
distributed in oral form - was remotely cake-like.

It was a good day. Now we are leaving Iruya at 3:15pm, today´s only
scheduled bus, and in Humahuaca will go our separate ways – Ariel and
Natalia back to Inti Tampu to get their car and spend the night before
heading back to Bs As, and me to Purmamarca and then to Salta, as of
now´s plan.