Salta

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The long road to Salta

We were picked up in the morning for the 10 hour drive over the Argentinian border towards Salta. For an extra $20 the drivers promised to take us on a scenic route that would take in puna, salt flats and rainforest! The puna, or plain was stunning ... the brightest of green grasses with the moutains in the distance, turning to salt flats near the fringe of the plain. Going up into the moutains was fun, but coming down from 4000 feet was a bit of a trauma .. with the brakes going completely on the outside of a hairpin bend .. the driver was pumping them to get some purchase but nothing was happening! Very scary stuff! Still, the brakes recovered after a short break .. but the rest of the descent was nerve wracking, and it kind of took the edge off the whole 'enjoying the scenic route' experience. The journey on to Salta was a bit frustrating from thereon in .. we went through the rainforest in total darkness, winding our way laboriously up the mountains .. it would have been so much cooler in the daylight but I can't complain!

Salta

Salta itself has a very colonial feel to it, unfortunately we didn't spend enough time in the city itself to really learn much about it, or to see its best parts. The only full day we had in the area was spent on the 'train to the clouds', or rather the Road, since the train stopped running a couple of years ago. We headed back up through the mountain range next to Salta and again onto the Puna .. to a town called San Antonio de los Cobres, an old copper mining town. We drove up to several parts of the original railway line, most notably a tall viaduct with a definite lean on the track! Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to climb up to the top so had to make do with pictures from the base.

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Comments

[Davina]

Enjoying your descriptions & pictures!
I'm so jealous! Continue having fun.....and take care:)