Tupiza |
The big move north |
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Iglesia Catedral viewed from the Plaza in Salta |
The 18th century Cabildo in Salta |
Colonnade of the Cabildo |
The ornate 19th century Iglesia San Francisco |
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Finally, we boarded our bus for the three hour trip to Tupiza - it was the classic old Bolivian bus that you hear about in many a tourist story - rattling, rusting, and jam-packed with locals heading home after a day at the markets, plus a few gringo backpackers. It was a lot of fun, bumping along the dusty corrugated dirt road across the high desert plain, stopping at small pueblos to let people on or off, the smell of burning brake pads drifting up through the floorboards on the occasional steep and winding descents. Still, everyone arrived safely and the scenery was superb, especially as we neared Tupiza, set in this magnificently arid and multi-coloured gorge country.
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El Cañon Walk
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View back up the dry gulch from the gorge entrance |
Rock fins in the conglomerate cliff neart the entrance to El Cañon |
Closer view of the eroded rock fins |
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The entry to El Cañon |
In a very narrow section of the gorge |
Cacti backlit by the afternoon sun |
Air plants clinging to the cliff walls |
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Cacti growing up the red rock slopes |
A beautiful specimen of the pepper tree |
The rich red-brown of the central section |
Nello entering a narrow "gate" between rock fins |
Another short scramble up a rocky part of the river bed, brought us to the junction of two side gorges that climbed steeply into surrounding hills; we had reached the end of the walk and stopped for a while in a shady spot to take in the stark beauty of this landscape before descending. It was a pleasant stroll back, mainly in the cool shade of the steep walls. |
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Not the Entre Rios Walk
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