Have Tefl will Travel

 Such a treat today! I had heard and read about the Escaramuzas but never thought I would see them. Escaramuzas is the name of a resistance faction  during the  Mexican Revolution.  Escaramuzas means 'skirmish' and the role of these women guerrillas  was to ride into  the enemy camps creating chaos and a distraction while the male soldiers attacked elsewhere. These Escaramuzas were from farms and ranches in the north west of Mexico   This weekend there was a ‘Charreria’ (rodeo) in Merida over the Labour Day weekend and on Sunday we went to see the Eascaramuzas after my friends son told us they would be performing. After a few hours of watching horse and cow wrangling by the men,  three Escaramuzas teams performed.  They wear beautiful coloured costumes and there are very strict rules about their costumes; they must all be the same, a set number of tiers on the skirt which must be of cotton or wool (wool!! in 40*), a high collar, a bow in...

As with many places in Argentina, the street art is really vibrant and  relevant to the community. these are from Humahuaca, where there was also the monument and the fabulous iconic cacti. Saint Francis of Paula  Uquia In a nearby tiny desert village there was a little whitewash church. Entering the church there is a unique smell a from the wood which is all cactus wood. the roof, pews, alter front are all from cactus wood. On the walls are also unique paintings. The Spanish conquistador who commissioned the church wanted to dedicated it to the Holy angels. He  asked local  Cuzco artists  to paint pictures of angles. They had no concept of  an angel and asked what they looked like the soldier said like me with wings so the artist made 78 paintings of Spanish soldiers with Flamingo wings. It dates from the 17th century. It is American-style, with 1 m thick adobe walls. The tower is separate from the main building. The altar is hand-carved in cactus wood and...

  An 11 hour over night bus journey from Cordoba and I arrived in the town of Salta. I t's in the far north West of Argentina, near to the Chilian border. It was Easter weekend and I was really hoping to take part in the Easter services. I had booked into what turned out to be a lovely Hostel, very colonial style with tall, tall rooms and doors. Thinking about it after being in Mexico, the tall ceilings and doors let the heat rise and escape rather than out low ceiling houses which contain the heat.  I took a tour of the local Franciscan Church and its museum, it als had a lovely little courtyard restaurant called Francis's Patio. I had been to the palm Sunday service in Cordoba with Ruben the weekend before, in a very modern church and this was very different - dark and old and traditional in style, with gold decoration and old,  old paintings.  The Maundy (Holy) Thursday service was  hot and packed but I managed to squeeze in. The music group leading the servi...

 I'm behind with my blog!! I've been having such a wonderful time out and about without time to write up my adventures. On a wet morning in Iguacu, I'm catching up.   From Cordoba i took a trip to Salta and Jujuy in the far northwest of Argentina , near the Bolivian boarder. The urban and natural landscape are different her - less European, more pre Hispanic and the people are shorter and darker, closer to the original peoples of this land.  I took 2 day trips one form Salta and one from Jujuy to  Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colours) Located in Purmamarca, this iconic mountain features vibrant bands of red, pink, green, and yellow rock. It's one of the most photographed natural sites in Argentina. This hill and many of the surrounding hills are composed of layers of sediment deposited in the sea, lakes, and rivers over long periods. Each coloured layer contains different minerals, such as red clay (fangolitas), whitish quartzose, s...