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Published: March 29th 2010
Salta is in the north of Argentina and is surrounded by lush green mountains. The city had a lovely feel to it and seemed to be more civilised than Mendoza - but maybe it just seems more Mediterranean. In town, there´s a gorgeous deli which sells all sorts of hams and cheeses and chocolates and boozes. There is a plaza in the middle, and around it are a bundle of cafes and restaurants. There´s a teleferico (cable car) from a park in the city up to the top of a hill, from where there are some fabulous views.
I didn´t do that much in Salta except work on my translation, fight with Student Loans, and eat. I had my last Argentine steak in Salta and it was delicious - and lots of lovely Malbec. I decided to break up the trip to the Bolivian border by stopping over in Tilcara in the province of Jujuy. Tilcara is a tiny village in the Quebrada - it´s dusty and the rivers are wide but empty - except one which must be going great guns as it´s all lush and green around about it. The village is surrounded by gorgeous red mountains and
there are cacti everywhere. You can tell you´re getting closer to Bolivia because the people look different, the food is slightly different, the landscape is different and it´s a bit cheaper than the rest of Argentina. I stayed at a hostel just outside the village next to the old railway line and station. It was very rustic but quite cute. There was a small dog in the hostel who had dreads hanging down from his ears. Within walking distance of the village was an old Inca site. I got properly sunburnt on my walk around the Inca site because it there was a cool breeze and it had been raining and cool that morning when I woke up (in Salta) so I totally forgot about sun block. What an idiot! My nose was peeling for weeks afterwards.
I didn´t consider it at the time but stopping there for the night may have helped me acclimatise to the climate. Salta is at 1187m above sea level and Tupiza in Bolivia, where I was headed, is at just under 2950m. Tilcara was also just under 3000m, so actually perhaps it didn´t help... I wasn´t sure if the headaches and nausea I
had when I first got to Bolivia were due to the cold I had and the 2-day old pizza I´d had for breakfast or due to altitude sickness.
This blog would be much better with pictures. Unfortunately I still can´t get anything to upload (29.03.10)
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Lee Lloyd
non-member comment
Hey!
Hi Em, I'm loving reading about your adventures, sounds like you are really making the most of everywhere you're visiting and it sounds fab. Just don't forget the sun cream from now on! It's pouring with rain here today, feeling very wintry... brrrr.. anyway, baby Lloyd is due in just 2 days!!!!! I shall let you know as soon as he/she makes an appearance, we're so excited!! You take care, lots of love xxxx