Salta...the cloudy

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When I arrived in Salta, another four hours by bus, it was quite a shock being back in a big city after the tranquility of Cafayate. I've met plenty of people around Argentina who've been here, and raved about it...and the city's slogan is 'Salta la linda' (Salta the beautiful). Unfortunately it's more like Salta the cloudy, as the weather's been miserable since I got here.

Although other people had said there is so much to do here in Salta, when I spoke to the people at the hostel, pretty much all of it involves going on expensive excursions to the surrounding countryside - which I'd just come from. Being a penny-pinching cheap skate, I decided I wasn't prepared to spend so much money. I'm heading further north after here anyway, nearer to some of the attractions on the excursions, so it'll be much cheaper to visit them from there.

So my time here has been spent exploring the city. It's one of the more historical cities I've been to in Argentina, and has some of the oldest colonial architecture in the country, including a magnificent church and cathedral. You have to love a city that paints its cathedral pink, and its church a fetching shade of red! The cabildo is also one of the few original surviving ones in the country (unfortunately I don't know when it dates from). When I got there, they were just starting an elaborate changing of the guard ceremony in front of the cabildo, involving a marching band, guards in traditional dress, and horses.

There are also some interesting museums here, the main one being El Museo de la Alta Montaña. The showcase of the museum is a perfectly preserved mummy of a young Inca girl who was sacrificed at the top of a mountain in the high Andes some 500 years ago. Everything about her is completely intact - her hair, her face, her skin, her clothes. The museum tells the story of how she came to be there in the first place - the beliefs and culture which led the Incas to sacrifice their best young people, and how she was found, along with exhibits of various artefacts she was found with. I couldn't help but wonder at the ethics of it, and whether it would have been better, and more respectful, to leave her where she was. But that said, it was fascinating, and an interesting way to learn more about the history of the area.

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Photos

Protests in the main square
Supports of the current countryside dispute