Blogs from Salta, Argentina, South America - page 65

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South America » Argentina » Salta May 9th 2006

After several enjoyable days (and one not so enjoyable thanks to travellers´ tummy) in San Pedro de Atacama, I am back in Argentina in the city of Salta. "Salta la linda" or "Salta the beautiful" is the local slogan and quite frankly I would have to agree. It truly is a beautiful city and I am lucky to be staying right on the corner of the main colonial plaza in the centre of town. Without much effort I have been able to wander aimlessly, taking snapshots of fabulous architecture. I addition, this morning I spent several hours on a guided walk through the cloudforest reserve of del Huaico (quite the opposite of the barren, dry Atacama). Am flying back to Buenos Aires on thursday and I have to say I am looking forward to spending a ... read more
Salta cathedral
Salta street scene
Salta doorway

South America » Argentina » Salta May 9th 2006

Here are some more photos of San Pedro de Atacama region and the altiplano on the trip over into Argentina.... read more
San Pedro surrounds
Ruins at Quitor
Ruins at Quitor 2

South America » Argentina » Salta » Cafayate May 7th 2006

Argentine mountains are like brake lights. They are bright red and it's a good idea to stop when you see them. Uh, lest you drive off a cliff. Sorta. Nevermind. Unfortunately, the bus into Cafayate kept moving, so my pictures got all blurry. I noticed an Australian fellow a few rows behind me (of course, I wouldn't find out he was Australian, nor would I know that his name was Trevor, until he would later tell me that stuff) trying to take pictures out the window. Trevor was having difficulty getting shots from his aisle seat. He was further hindered when the old woman in the window seat next to him woke up and recoiled at the camera in her face. She appeared very very dismayed and very very elderly indeed, and Trevor fumbled awkwardly with ... read more
King of the Hill
Red + Green = Christmas?
Yes, Eden Was There Too

South America » Argentina » Salta May 4th 2006

I've managed to reduce the time it takes me to put in my contact lenses to about 87 minutes. The secret, for all of you contact lens-wearers reading this right now, is practice, practice, practice. You will never become as fast as me without putting them in it at least once every two weeks. Unfortunately, we didn't have 87 minutes as we had to be at MoviTrack HQ in Salta at balls o'clock in the morning, so it was Glasses McGee for me today. (Incidentally, "Balls O'Clock in the Morning" is not just what I call the excellent berries-n-peanut-butter breakfast drink Eden invented years ago. It also happens to be a cool band name, should any band ever be wise enough to use it.) MoviTrack is a safari company started by a couple of Germans who ... read more
Ancient Indian Burial Ground
Whack-A-Cack
Tina, Come Get Some Ham!

South America » Argentina » Salta April 29th 2006

Arrived in Salta, Northwest Argentina after a pretty horrific 36ish hour journey which began when we boarded the jeep on the last day of our S.W Bolivia Tour. After a 400+km jeep ride we caught an overnight train from Uyuni to the Arg / Bol border at Villazón. Walked across the border and did the usual queueing and stamping and finally got into Argentina. 8hours later we arrive 300kms south in the city of Salta. The first difference that struck us was the transport, as we stood transfixed in awe at the shiny big coach in front of us ready to take us on smooooooooth paved highways down to Salta. Upon arriving and getting the first shower in 3 days we headed out on the hunt for decent grub. Fortunately we didn´t have to look far ... read more
Salta main square
Salta feniculaire
Salta main square by night.

South America » Argentina » Salta April 20th 2006

Hello all! After 10 days in Bolivia it was off to Argentina and the land of beef and wine! On the train from Uyuni to the border, we met an Irish brother and sister, Padraig and Sinead. This would be the first of many train/bus trips that the four of us would be on together through Argentina. Since we were a bit tired we decided to try traveling 1st class on the train. It had a bit more leg room and breakfast and was a very nice change! After an overnight train, we walked across the border. Our guide books assured us it wasn´t that far. After 35 minutes fully loaded with gear we finally made it across the border and to the bus station in La Quica, Argentina. We purchased tickets for 8 hours more ... read more
Ahh now this is 1st class comfort-train out of Bolivia
Melia enjoying breakfast on the train after sleeping all night
Northern Argentina

South America » Argentina » Salta » Calchaquí Valleys April 18th 2006

Hallo ihr Alle, so da sind wir also wieder: wohlbehalten und gluecklich sind wir von unserem Ausflug in die Valles Calchaquies zurueckgekehrt. Aber das Ganze gibt es natuerlich auch ausfuehrlicher - also, das Ganze war naemlich so: Am (Oster-)sonntagabend machen Raphael und ich uns auf den Weg ins Zentrum - nach einer Woche Salta sind wir froh endlich wieder loszuziehen und freuen uns auf unseren Mietwagen, der uns fuer 21.00 Uhr versprochen wurde. Nachdem der ganze Papierkram erledigt ist bringt uns der Autovermieter zu unserem kleinen Fiat Palio (als ich Fiat gehoert habe wurde mir ja schon ganz anders - aber siehe da: Fiat kann tatsaechlich auch ganz ordentliche Autos bauen). Als wir uns den Wagen genauer ansehen entdecken wir aber, dass unser neuer Freund leider an einem platten Reifen leidet....Das Angebot des Vermieters den Reifen ... read more
Garganta del diablo
Der Frosch
La ventana

South America » Argentina » Salta April 17th 2006

En route to Salta we passed through some amazing scenery, most notably the Andes! And I cant quite believe quite how lucky I was, but we saw a volcano erupt...one of the four remaining active volcanoes (out of 38 extinct and 2 dormant ones) in the region surrounding San Pedro de Atacama and close to the geyser field we had visited a couple of days previously. At the Argentine border the smoke and ash from kilometres away started to fall so we had to make a pretty sharpish exit on the bus during our lunch! Salta was a lovely colonial city with a beautiful (pink!) cathedral and green plaza. A few of us trekked up the San Bernado hill for views over the city and the Andes beyond. I thought it was only right to reward ... read more
Salta catedral
San Bernando church
View over Salta (with Andes in background)

South America » Argentina » Salta » Cafayate April 9th 2006

I´ve only been driving for a few years, but in that time have seen many lovely places from behind the wheel. The journey which we have just completed over the past three days has to rank up there as probably the best yet. We hired a car here in Salta having scoured the town looking for offers..worth the effort for anyone trying it. Having planned not to drink the night before the drive, I quickly went back on the plans, opting for a BBQ at a local hostal. Once there, we ran into two guys from Donegal in NW Ireland who quickly reminded me that cheap Argentinian wine was not to be passed up. With a sore head the following morning, we set off - no sign of the sunny weather of the last few days, ... read more

South America » Argentina » Salta April 8th 2006

OK - we're going to have to skip along a little bit quicker here 'cos it's now April and I'm nearly a month out of date. So here goes for Argentina highlights:- * we got lost by 3 hours on a dead straight road that we were supposed to be on for two days. * the crew still can't explain how we were lost * it was St Patricks Day * we camped by the biggest (empty) swimming pool in South America * the red wine is fantastic * the gin and tonics come by the bottle * the steak is amazing * there are some very good bars in Salta * we weren't there very long ... read more




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