The hotel forgot our 9:00 wake up. Angel was adamant that we change rooms around so that I didn't have to sleep with the drivers; it was more politically correct. The higher math of room changes befuddled the desk clerk. I proposed a solution that was accepted. We then drove into town and meet our city tour guide, Angelina, who walked us through the central plaza and cathedral. I had never actually entered the cathedral before. I am really impressed with the changes in the city center. Traffic is being phased out and the plaza is becoming pedestrian only. Nice ornamental brickwork is being laid in the streets. The cabildo's façade has been renovated and looks great. We walked past the Iglesia de San Francisco down to the convent.

I had arranged a meeting with José Viramonte at the University of Salta (UNSa) so I had to cut the Cerro Bernardo vista visit from the tour. We drove out to the university. The road construction that has been completed or is underway is impressive. A 4-lane road is being put in out to the university and the road up the east side of town is now a straight shot.

I found José in his office with Berta, Tato, and Chiqui. I rode with José to the C. Catorce restaurant where his son, Mariano, now an architect, restored an old house across from the Tren a las Nubes train station. There, we were joined by Ricardo Sureda, José Salfity, Ricardo Alonso, Claudia Galli, Marita Viramonte, Aldo Tapia, and Ricardo Domínguez, plus 8-10 UNSa students. I introduced everyone with a light aire that might have surprised the salteños. Alonso is now the Secretary of Mining and Energy Resources for the province, although his card says Minig. I had fun with that. He had come from a meeting with the Governor to join us.
We all had a wonderful meal, sitting outside in the sun and drinking excellent wines and beer. It was great to be back with all of these good friends. I was sorry that Tuity, Ivan, Cecilia, and Gustavo could not attend. José seemed very interested in Angel and the Green Machine for future use in his field schools.

Around 4:30 things broke up and Angel took us to the Mercado Artesano. Todd and I got off early to change money which we did in a Casa de Cambio for the clean American bills and on the street, at a slightly lower rate, for those with writing on them. We then took a taxi to the mercado and distributed the changed money to the students who had requested it. Then we went shopping. I bought a bunch of bird carvings for gifts and to add to my collection. I also bought three masks. It was getting cold so Todd and I each bought nice llama wool sweaters.

When we finished we took a cab to the city center and walked over to La Posta, one of my two favorite restaurants, and had an excellent meal. As always the place was packed. I had given each student 100 pesos for their evening meal and tomorrow's meals.
After dinner we took a cab back to the hotel and got situated.