As we made our way south towards the Argentinian border, we stopped in a town called Tupiza, which sits in a valley southeast of Uyuni. There we went on a two day horsebackriding tour with two Australians, Luke and Keeley, and a guide.
The trail we took south from Tupiza followed a dry valley to the Puerta del Diablo and then joined the Rio San Juan which runs along the bottom of a wide river valley. We crossed and recrossed the river many times.
Melanie rode a gentle white and black spotted horse named La Pintada.
The trail eventually climbed up from the river to follow the left side of the valley.
As the afternoon wore on, the sun warmed the mountains to warm hues of red and gold.
The Rio San Juan drifted on below us.
Stephen rode a black horse named Laguno, who we renamed Black Stallion, since he kept bucking everyone. Eventually the guide had to change horses with Stephen.
Along the river the cool smell of willows and feather reed grass gave relief from the dusty afternoon heat.
Our first view of the Rio San Juan.
The Rio San Juan passed by the Toroyoj rock formation, where we stopped for lunch the first day and revisited on our way back north on the second day.
We crossed the border from Bolivia to Argentina in the late afternoon and as the sun set we hopped on a bus bound to Tilcara, about 4 hours south of the border. A waning cresent hung in the periwinkle sky, which quickly turned ink black. We watched Orion rise. When we woke up in Tilcara the next morning, we found we were deep in the Valley of Humahuaca (Quebrada de Humahuaca), surrounded by rough, multi-colored mountains. 
That afternoon we took a bus to Salta, traveling through the rest of the spectacular canyon.
And you wonder why people eat so much steak in this country.
Local woman demostrating how to peel the base of the totora reed for eating, an important source of water and vitamins (not just homebuilding). They´re tastey too!
Four days before my birthday, Stephen and I headed out on the Inka trail with a group of 16 hikers and the hopes of reaching Machu Picchu for April 28th, my birthday.
We past the ruins of Llactapata...
The second day was a long slow climb,
But the 1,000 meter climb doesn´t look so bad from the top! After decending 400 meters we settled in for an afternoon of rest.
The smell of wet bark mixed with moss and the occasional flower.
The next day we got up at 4 a.m. and climbed our way to Machu Picchu to see the first rays of sun hit the ruins.
Dirty Birdy... 
Dirty Birdy Thirty.
And a really friendly guide, Carlos.
