On our way out of town we stopped by the empanada shop that John Kotila and Ron Hilliard found in 1995 and bought two dozen for lunch.  We ate as we drove, under overcast skies, on the new highway to the east.  I nodded off after we turned, waking up when we reached Jujuy.

We made several stops in the Quebrada de Humahuaca.  I was happy to see that the two buried bridges have been removed so the new bridge is no longer in danger.  The Purmamarca train station was a big hit as was the market on the plaza!  I also took some good shots of the Maimara cemetery.  We then spent an hour at Tilcara, which I enjoyed more than my previous visits.  We walked to parts of the ruins I hadn't been to before. It was more fun with a small group than with the larger groups I had been there with in my three earlier visits. Our final stop was at the Tropic of Capricorn where we took the obligatory photos.

The orange bridge and the railroad bridge, obscurred behind the tree on the right, were built too low to the river given the fantastic rates of sediment accumulation that are seen along the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Eventually, they started acting as sediment dams and were threatening the new bridge  on which I was standing. I visited this place in July 2000 (see photo). Since that visit, the government had undertaken the dismantling of the older bridges and excavated the riverbed in order to prolong the life of the new  bridge.

We pulled into the Residencial Humahuaca around 5:30.  Jonas and his crew were not yet back from the field so we settled into our rooms. Brian accidentily broke the toilet in our tiny room so they gave us a bigger room!  I’ll have to remember that one for future use
 

Numerous alluvial fans enter the Quebrada de Humahuaca from side canyons. This one is situated across from the Tilcara ruins.

We sat by the outdoor fireplace reading and writing.  I spoke with a girl from Ushuaia who was cycling around the area.  Around 7:30 Jonas Kley, Reuben Monaldi, David Hindle, and Bjoern Habighorst came in from the field.  We all went out to dinner at the bus terminal, which was actually quite good.  It was a very international table with four Americans, two Germans, an Englishman, an Argentine and a Bolivian.

We returned to the hotel at 11:30 and went to bed.  It being Saturday night in Argentina, there was an all-night party going on. It kept me awake for only a short while.