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Published: November 7th 2008
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With the sound of football songs still ringing in Matt's ears we set off on our adventures once more. Next stops Salta and Jujuy. The journey was another loooooong overnighter, but we decided as it was our last on the lovely Argentinian buses, we would go 1st class. The flat bed was smashing and I think we both slept better than we had for days. Our previous bus from Iguazu to Buenos Aires was even more spectacular though. After providing us with plenty of wine with dinner, Chrissie had a glass of champagne, while Matt received about half a pint of whiskey......he slept well that night too! Anyhow, I digress, where were we, oh yeah, Salta and Jujuy....
Salta and Jujuy are in the north of Argentina, where this diverse country provides another entirely new and different landscape, environment and culture. Both provinces revel in dramatic backdrops that are reminiscent of the American Wild West, while the people and culture start to move away from the western influenced heart of Argentina towards the more indigenous population in nearby Bolivia.
The third big change was the altitude. Although Salta sits only 1,200m above sea level, our day trips out of
the city took us as high as 4,000m and within the week we had travelled north to stay in towns that sit at the same height. It takes a bit of getting used to and you really notice that you get much less puff per breath. As one of our guides put it "I like to see how high I can smoke a cigarette without falling over!". To help your stability you are regularly encouraged to chew coca leaves, the plant from which cocaine is made. Before families get all worried, can we point out, it has none of the effects of cocaine in it's natural form! It does have great settling and calming properties though and psychological or physical, it seemed to help.
Our first trip from Salta up to the local valleys (still seems odd to have to go up 1,000´s of meters to reach a valley) provided some great views of the scenery. The canyons are coloured yellows, greens and reds, depending on the mineral within them and the rugged rock formations are dramatic. With a little imagination there were formations resembling all manner of things (see the photos and see if you agree?). There are
also gorges created by rivers and waterfalls a squillion years ago (approx time), now dry, which provided much climbing fun and a chance to test out the acoustics. Q: Does a duck quack echo? We didn't have a duck, so unfortunately could not test it.
The following day we headed off on another tour to the 4,000m high valley. It all felt a bit similar to the day before, but we got to see a big old viaduct and get lost and out of puff in an abandoned Inca settlement. The highlight for us was probably the huge amount of Cacti reaching as high as 10 meters. Growing at only 1cm a year, I'll let you do the maths to work out their age. The fact that they not only survive but grow to such a huge size in such a desolate, exposed, and airless environment seemed to fascinate the both of us.
I should mention Salta city briefly too I guess. It is a lovely old colonial town, one of the few to retain it's colonial buildings, and the sun drenched cafes and restaurants around the main plaza were a right old treat. We went up a
big viewing hill in a cable car (it rocked and Matt got scared!) and walked the 1,070 steps back down. Lastly I should mention we visited the archaelogical museum which contains children found in the Andes over 6,000m high. They have been perfectly preserved (the skin, the hair, the clothes, everything) for over 700 years due to the lack of moisture and oxygen. It is amazing to see, but certainly a little creepy if you've ever seen a zombie film!
After a days rest (hangover induced - it's never a good idea to start playing poker at 2am), we headed north again to spend a couple of days in the tiny towns of Tilcara and Humahuaca, where you really feel the indigenous culture take over. They were both terribly sweet and we enjoyed nosing around the cobbled streets and adobe houses (adobe = made from dried mud, nothing to do with reading .pdf files!).
We are now just about used to the altitude and have crossed the border to Bolivia, but that shall wait for another day, another blog. Argentina was smashing and I miss it already, but as you will find out with our next blog, the
adventure really starts now!
Love
Matt and Chrissie
x x x
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