I was lucky to recently travel around the north of Argentina and get to know some of the small towns in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta. As you can see in this picture that is taken just outside the town of Tilcara, the landscape is all cactus and mountains, very dry and hot during the day and chilly at night. I was constantly amazed by the colours of the mountains, as they are not only brown but also red, pink, blue, green and even violet in some places. The small towns are all colonial with buildings that date back to the 1800´s and streets made of stones or dust. I kept expecting to see a tumbleweed roll down the main street, as the imagery from American westerns was close to mind.
The link to the past is much more apparent up here, with many people of Native decent living quite the same as their ancestors in simple houses and working with materials that surrond them. For example, inside the cactus is a type of wood called Cardon and it is used widely as a building material for gates, roofs, tables etc. The link to the Incan past is also prevalent and there are many ruins and museums with artefacts from that time, over 500 years ago.
These are some of my favourite shots of the landscapes...
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