Salta

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We flew out of Iguazu on Friday night and arrived late to our hostel. At check in they were offering a tour that left the next morning to go to the salt flats and through the mountains nearby. We decided to book it and headed off to bed for a 5 a.m. wake up call the next morning! Even the lonely planet said the tour we were about to undertake was pretty gruelling but we decided it would be worth. 15 hour bus ride through the mountains

Boy was it ever. By 7 am we were starting our climb into the arid desert mountains of Salta. Salta itself is located at 1800 m above sea level and this trip would take us up as high as 4200 m. The drive through the lower mountains as the sun rose was spectacular. There´s absolutely nothing out there except for rocks, dust and cactus. The bus traced the same route as the ¨Train to the Clouds¨ - a train that only runs to take tourists through the mountains.

Our first stop was a pre-Incan civilization city ruins. They figure about 400 families lived in these dwellings on the mountains and have no idea why they all suddenly left. They´re between 500 - 1000 years old and nothing has changed. We then headed up higher and stopped for lunch at a pretty desolate town at about 2500 m (this was mostly a tourist trap organized by the tour company). Leah wandered the town looking for sun glasses as there is absolutely no shade anywhere and we were told the salt flats are blinding. At this point i´m starting to feel the altitude but it didn´t really realize how high we were since the road goes up so gradually.

As we climbed higher and higher the air got thinner and thinner and drier. You can´t drink enough water to make yourself feel hydrated here. Not to mention the serious lack of washroom facilities required after drinking so much water but I digress.

The bus continued along the dirt road heading for the salt flats. By this time everyone was starting to feel the effects of the high altitude. Just about everyone on the bus (except the driver) fell asleep. Leah kept having to remind Burnie and I to breathe deeply. As we came upon the salt flats there were heards of alpaca grazing on the short grass. The salt flats opened up before us and span about 50 km. It was like driving in the arctic where you never seem to be getting any closer to your destination. The salt flats are at about 2800 m above sea level. We finally arrived at the Sales Grande and we were told we only had 30 minutes to explore. Since Leah, Burnie and I had some perspective pictures we wanted to take we headed for the flats to start setting up (will post picture asap). We had a great time running around the salt flats. It´s amazing to think what it would have looked like when the water was still there. Under the salt flats there are pools of water that exist when you pull up the salt. It was an amazing site.

We then continued heading up higher into the mountains. We tried to stay awake as much as possible but the altitude made it very difficult. The highest point of our journey took us to 4200 m above sea level. The highest mountain in the area goes up to 5700 m. From there we descended 2000 m in 30 minutes. Let´s just say that no one on the bus was feeling great after that. Only the view made it worth it. We headed next for a small village called Pumamarca. The area is famous for the stone facades on the mountains that contain multiple colours. They call it the 7 colour mountains (original eh?).

At this point we realize that the guide has been rushing us through most of the stops all day in order to end the tour early (group not ammused). In the end though it worked out well. We headed back to the hostel. It took another 2 1/2 hours through the city of Jujuy. It was great to head back to lower altitude.

We met a couple German girls on the tour and they were planning on heading back up the same way we´d come the next day with a car rental. They invited us to go with them but we finally decided against it because the day had been so long and it would have taken us out of our way and we wouldn´t have had a chance to see Salta. So instead we spent the next day touring Salta.

It´s a beautiful spot with a nice main plaza to tour and colonial architecture. We had seen an ad for a special exhibit at the local museum so decided to head there first. The museum was totally dedicated to preserving and interpreting the high mountain civilizations. The Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM) was really interesting. The special exhibit had on display the remains of three children who were found buried at the top of the highest mountain in the area. They had been child sacrifices to the gods. The Incan people worshipped the mountains as gods and offered the best and most beautiful of their children to the gods each year. It was fascinating. Each child was buried with personal items to help them in the next life including exquisitely made dolls and carved stone animals. I highly recommend the museum to anyone heading to Salta.

We also decided to take the gondola ride to get a high city view of Salta. We chatted with an Argentina couple as we rode to the top. The view was great. The city spreads out through the whole valley and is surrounded by the mountains.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying coffee and smoothies in the main plaza. It was over 30 degrees and as we´d been so cold the day before up in the mountains, we were way overdressed. We were basically killing time before our overnight bus to Cordoba.

The Argentinian people are really very friendly and eager to help but I have to say that I really wish I knew more Spanish. We´re picking it up pretty quick but sometimes it´s a struggle. I will hopefully post some pictures of the above when we get to Mendoza and have better access to computers.

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