Leaving with reluctance

The eye puffiness has subsided a bit and will go back to normal before the day ends. I wait on the patio for Melissa to emerge from sleep. We find a place for coffee and pan caseros, the standard Argentine breakfast. Melissa convinces the café to make the next cup of coffee stronger, since the Tilcara cup is perpetually weak. We are charged a lot for what we get and we leave.

I decide to leave that evening at 6. Purmamarca, my next destination, is not worth spending an extra afternoon in and I weigh that with spending one last afternoon with Melissa. I go to Pukara once again. The pueblo is heavily restored, which disappoints her.

Right as we leave, the tourist buses stream in, but its just about time for me to pack for my bus. Melissa walks to the station and is about to detour to the cyber café since I am a "big boy." I retort, "Only on the outside."

We say goodbye no less than three times. She asks me what would have happened if she hadn’t asked me to dinner that night. I say that I’m sure we would have met anyway since the weird and wacky ones usually find their way to me.

Purmamarca is a retired traveler’s haven. I bumble into a few extensive hostelries that all but slam the door in my face. I finally find the place that’s right for me, a very simple hostel with beds and camping. I return to town to sign up for a ride to Gran Salinas, eat dinner and go to bed.