Salta La Linda! (Argentina)

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I finally made it to Salta and have more than two pesos in my pocket! I got into a hostel and ran into a girl that is in my program that I have happened to run into about three times this summer- the border of Peru and Bolivia, La Paz and now Salta. Small world!

Salta is beautiful, I now understand why they call it ¨Salta La Linda¨. The plaza is a huge grassy space full of fountains and statues that is surrounded in cobblestone streets, outside cafes and pedestrian malls (that I have fully taken advantage of!).

I have been soo good about not shopping throughout all of my travels, well, my self control came to a screaming halt yesterday! I started out just buying myself a Mate (the tea that everyone drinks here in a special gord and straw), I have decided that I am going to bring the tradition to the US! I love it- everywhere you look there are groups of people sitting around the parks and plazas with their thermos and mate.

I have met some really cool people in my hostel; the only thing I´m not a fan of is that everyone speaks English. When I got here I had the hardest time switching to speaking in English- besides crying to my parents in a panic about being completely broke, I don´t remember the last time I had a conversation in English. I keep literally translating, for instance, instead of saying, ¨I did that because¨, I would say ¨for this, I did that¨, haha. I guess it´s a good sign though, I hope it means that my Spanish is improving, not just that my English is getting worse!! I have hung out a lot with a girl named Martha, from the UK. She is 20 years old and has an ¨Around the World Ticket¨, she started in India 10 months ago and has been traveling ever since (alone the whole time!).

I´m heading to Cordoba tomorrow night, and after a few nights there I´m pretty sure I´ll be heading back to Santiago. I have found an apartment I´m super excited about with two Chilean guys in Barrio Bellas Artes, a really artsy, cool area of Santiago. It will be nice to sleep in the same bed for more than two nights in a row and not share a bathroom with 500 people but it will be weird being in one city for an extended period of time again!!

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Photos

Martha and I
My friend, Martha, whom I met in my hostel. She´s 20 years old and has been traveling around the world alone for 10 months. She started in India and has made her way to Argentina but has to head back home to the UK in a month.

Plaza 9 de Julio
such a good plaza.

Museums
The plaza has two museums; one of contemporary art and another archeological museum. The archeological museum is known for three mummies that were found in the Andes in 1999. We went and saw the mummies and it´s really crazy; it´s three Inca children that were so perfectly preserved by the cold that they look like they´re still living.

Parque
Really cute park in the middle of the city that has a little lake, paddle boats and rides for kids.

Shop ´till you drop...
There are pedestrian two streets en el centro that are just blocks and blocks of stores... I have spent wayy to much time on these streets the last two days.

Plaza 9 de Julio
The plaza is always full of people sitting around with their thermos and mate gord, drinking mate and talking. I bought all the supplies to drink mate (the cup, special straw, tea and thermos) and I´m determined to bring this tradition back to the US.

Ice Cream
Cold ice cream on a hot day, relaxing in the plaza after shopping for hours. This is the lifeeee.

Iglesia
The churches here are so ornate and beautiful.

South America or Europe?
Salta has a very European feel, now that I say that I guess the majority of Argentina does.