 Karina Jozami  Jorge González (1-4-5) / Karina Jozami (2) / Eduardo Epifanio (3)
Faces of Salt
At almost 3,300 meters of height, Claudio had offered us some cold drinks and tortillas (cakes made with fat) in order to avoid altitude sickness. We had entered the Puna when we made out the Quewar Volcano and the Nevado de Acay (snow-capped mountain), apart from passing by the foothills of Mount Chañi (Jujuy).
At about 12.30, we arrived in San Antonio de los Cobres (3,773 mosl), after going along 163 kilometers.
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At some lost spot, we stopped to see a church with its bells outside, surrounded by adobe houses. It is the Tres Morros settlement, which dates from 1870, with the only chapel in the region. An old steam locomotive smokestack was turned into a bell which was put to the right of the church and communicates the arrival of the priest to celebrate mass once a month. When they hear the call, the puna people come down to town on Saturday for the festival and stay until the following day after the religious services, which range from baptisms and weddings to masses for the dead.
The rest of the days, everything seems impassive. The infinite solitude is only disturbed once in a while by the passing of some car or truck. Afterwards, dryness and silence. In the salt mines, only the caretakers remain, because work is done during the very short rain period, from December to March, extracting about 4000 tons a year, which must be iodized for their commercialization.
When we got off, Claudio and Guillermo offered us a delicious fruit salad: just what we needed in order to keep on ascending to the highest point of our safari.
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This mining town, founded in 1943, is today the star in borate extraction, which represents 60% of its exploitation and turn Argentina into one of the four producing countries in the world.
After a hearty lunch, we left towards the Salinas (salt mines), this time with Judith and her sisters Jaqueline and Camila, who live with their other five brothers and their mother Andrea in a nearby hamlet.
In San Antonio de los Cobres, we left Route 51, which leads to the Sico pass, to take National Route 40 in the direction of the Jama pass, both of them corridors towards Chile.
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Heaven with Our Hands
In National Route 52, we headed for Jama’s opposite direction towards Purmamarca. The “movi” was winding along the road to the Puna, till we reached the Potrerillos dale, 4,170 meters high over sea level. The sun and the wind would sweep the immensity of the landscape. We would soon be leaving the Puna to get deep into the ravine through the Lipan slope. Claudio and Guillermo anticipated that, besides the wind, the descent would surprise us: that was a sign to put on warmer clothes and get our cameras ready.
Suddenly, we were at the top of the slope and the view was breathtaking. All of us were standing on our seats with the vehicle roof open, with a Strauss waltz in the background, we looked like kids in the middle of a slow roller-coaster that plays with its winding route. While we were thrilled and cold, the beauty and quietness of the valley lured us in every turn. Without noticing it, we had gone along 8 kilometers and down 1,500 meters.
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Farther on, “the town of the untouched land” was waiting: Purmamarca, in the aimará language. Shielded by Mount of Seven Colors, this pre-Hispanic settlement grew around the Santa Rosa de Lima church, built by the Jesuits in 1648.
When we arrived, Claudio and Guillermo let us go round the town while they prepared a toast on the “movitrack”.
I walked through the square packed with craftsmen to the church, watched by the old carob tree on one side, which had offered its shade and shelter to General Belgrano’s troops. It made one feel like getting lost in the quiet streets, with the whitened houses and their doors open.
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But I had to join the group in order to celebrate our safari. We exchanged congratulations with the rest of the group and the coordinators with champagne, and we began to revive the anecdotes of a day rich in thrill and personal experiences.
The night was falling when we took National Route 9 back to Salta. The sites and the faces I saw during this journey made me feel closer to that North that still hides the richness of its history in its scenery.
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Welcome Argentina - Outings in Salta
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