Tuesday next, May 25th or 25 de Mayo, is the bicentenary of Argentine independence from Spain. Monday is also a celebration day and hence combined with the weekend the Argentines have a 4 day fiesta starting tomorrow. We have seen national flags being put up in preparation for the celebrations for the past week or so as we have traveled through various large and small towns. But today the imminent festival was evident with crowds of people, including large numbers of teenagers in school uniforms, around the main plaza in downtown Salta. We were in tow for internet and other shopping chores.

While I drank coffee and downloaded audio books Nina took the opportunity to visit one of the local museums, Museo Arqueologico de Alta Montana, which contains exhibits from high altitude Inca shrines. The most famous of the exhibits are the mummified bodies of 3 children (one teenage girl and two pre-teens a boy and girl) sacrificed near the summit of the Andean mountain Llullaillaco (6739m). The remains were found in 1999 at what is now the highest archeological site in the world.