| I slept much better and got up at 7:45, just as the sun was rising.
After breakfast, we drove to a quebrada that opened up at the gas line.
Unsure that we were in the right place, we reconnoitered the area up to
the village of Cianzo before deciding we had it right in the first place.
We started sampling near the road. Pedro returned to the school to get some forgotten food for lunch. When he returned, he was accompanied by Adriana, her daughter, and another teacher (her husband?) who asked if we would let Pedro take them to Humahuaca in the afternoon since the buses weren’t running due to a strike and it was the start of their long weekend. We acquiesced and bid them farewell. Sampling progressed quickly at 30 m spacings. We eventually came
to a series of dry falls. I took the high trail around them and descended
into some beautifully sculpted sandstones that were reminiscent of the
southwestern U.S. We ate lunch in a dry plunge pool within them.
We worked until 6:00 when we reached as high as we could go in that quebrada. Brian and Rich climbed the west ridge to scout out tomorrow’s plan of attack. Then we all descended the pediment on the east side, reaching Pedro and the vehicle just before dusk. Back at the school, Pedro had already prepared dinner. We went about our evening routines and all were in bed by 9:00. |
