Well as I type this I can officially say that I am in back in the United States, well at least in the air between Atlanta, Georgia and Denver, Colorado! Holy buckets, it’s been a whirl wind of activity since the last time I wrote and I figure that once again only pictures could truly give the trip that Katie and  I took justice! We ended up taking a bus up to Salta Friday afternoon and spend Saturday and Sunday with Netel’s family. His mom and sister (Alicia and Raquel) were the most amazing hostesses. Monday- Thursday we spent exploring the province to the north call Juyjuy, and then made our way back down to Salta Thursday night. Friday took us on a tour of the beautiful countryside on the way to Cafayatte, Salta. We spent the night there and then the next morning continued south the capital of the province of Tucuman to take the 30 hour train ride back to Buenos Aires : ) 

Arrived back at Grace’s around midnight Sunday and then left at 5 in the afternoon Monday for the airport : ) Dani and Ana and all the guys at the Bible Institute cooked up a goodbye lunch for me Monday before I had to head to the airport. It was so nice to be able to see them all just one more time,  and I still am in completely awe and so thankful for all the incredible friends that God has brought into my life through this incredible experience. It was really hard to say good bye to everyone but I just feel so blessed to have been able to make so many lasting relationships with so many incredible people. I have no doubt that I will see them all again someday : )

Feeling completely shocked that I am ALREADY back in the states and that 4 months has already gone by. Want to thank you all once again for hanging in there and supporting me through this journey, God has blessed me with amazing friends, family and support all over the world.! SEE YOU SOON! 

Bail

Katie and I at the little Anglican church in Salta! It was a great service with more great people :)

The view from the Cicka's back porch! It's so beautiful! We were so lucky to be able to stay with Alicia and Raquel for 3 nights, they took such good care of us : )

The view from the top! Climbed to the top of this hill with Raquel and her friend! You can see all of Salta capital! Beautiful day!

Katie, Alicia, Raquel and their two family friends : ) The moms waited  for us at the bottom with mate and crackers! Only in Salta! hahah

Juyjuy Destination #1: Purmamarca. The mountains of 7 colors : )

Not only do they have beautiful views, but the most delicious desert that either of us has ever had! Ice cream made with goat's milk and blueberries! With apple tart on the side! SOOOOO GOOODD! We were able to visit the farm where the goat lives that donated the milk : ) hahah.

Another view of Purmamarca, it was such a beautiful place!

Destination 2: Salinas Grandes! We met a girl from France at the goat milk restaurant and she drove us to the salt flats of Salta! People are so nice and giving, it's incredible

Destination 3: Tilcara. This is the view as we hiked to a waterfall about 4 KM out of town. Pictures don't do it justice

THE RAGING "GARGANTA DEL DIABLO"! Ferocious and mighty eh?? Well the waterfall was kind of small but the journey was beautiful!

Our friend Pierre! A retired school teacher from France who is backpacking through Argentina and Chile for 3 months. Muy buena onda! Really neat guy!

View from the terrace of our hostel! Not too shabby for 11 dollars a night! haha

Cerro de la Cruz! A hill marked with a cross that gives an amazing view of all the surrounding areas of Tilcara

No you aren't reading that wrong, and yes I ate a llama hamburger and it was AWESOME! hahah

Destination 3: Iruya! We knocked on the door of this little place to eat and ended up chatting with the owners and went with the woman to their Wednesday night church service : ) We got up in front of the congregation and thanked them and shared a verse, Romans 8:37-39. It's so amazing how God has been with us each step of the journey

^"37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. "

Thursday morning we walked to San Isidro from Iruya, a beautiful route.

Katie and Geraldine, another friend from France! I want to be like her when I am 40, still traveling the world! haha

View from San Isidro

We stopped at a little home and ate empanadas and sipped on some coffee for a couple hours : ) This is one of the sons of the family : )

The hill that we had to trek up to get to our hostel : ) I loved the way that this town way built on a hill!

BACK TO SALTA! We did the classic Ruta del Vino to the south of Salta, with many beautiful stops along the way. Here is another Garganta del Diablo haha

Matrix! :)

Just another beautiful view!

Picture speaks for itself : )

We met Daniela and her mom in passing on a trail in Tilcara and then ended up being on the same tour with them is Cafayatte! Small world! Here we did a winery tour and tasted the famous white wine of Salta!

Wine ice cream anyone!?? : )

"Slow" good advice from a road sign on our bike ride from Cafayette

Biking along the road to Cafayatte! Action shot!

Our friend, Nico, who lives in an indigenous village about 5 hours walk from Cafayatte, we drank mate with him and chatted for a couple hours! He brought some walnuts from his village and taught us how to crush them in our hands : ) I'll teach you the technique : )

We made it to Tucuman (one more province to the south), early Saturday to catch the train. We had hours to kill before our train so we just sat in this park for hours like bums ; ) Here Katie is playing a lovely melody on a flute she bought her nephew.

Our private train car! CLASSY EH!?! There's even a sink!

You aren't imagining things, that's BUNK BEDS!

Our lovely neighbors, two women from Tucuman, lent us their computer to watch movies : ) Pretty rough traveling eh?!?

As if 9 days of adventure wasn't enough, we met this little tike on the train. We had a ninja fight, he told us his plans to be a doctor and then told us how Jesus died on the cross for us all and healed the world with His touch : ) Wow, child like faith is a beautiful thing : )

Farewell lunch : ) I miss everyone already!