As occasionally happens during our travels, we made adjustments to our itinerary based on our experiences. We realized that we had seen many of the sought-after altiplano birds and lots of vicuñas, and this allowed for us to skip a planned 2-day sojourn to the high Andes farther south. Of course, the driving distances also motivated us to reduce distances where possible, so we selected an intermediate destination of Salta, to a hotel we had previously stayed at. This hotel was in an excellent location, away from the city center, and suitable (with a balcony) for attracting insects.

The drive to Tilcara to the city of Salta took longer than expected, and both rain and the narrow roads with traffic took their toll. There was more traffic than we had previously experienced – this now being the height of the summer vacation. And the hotel was essentially full with a tour from Paraguay. But we had made a reservation and knew there was room. We also did some needed shopping and the best grocery store we had been to so far on our trip.

iPhone images