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Published: September 20th 2007
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Renata with Statue
hundreds of statues are dotted around the city Salta "La Linda". This is how the city is portrayed throughout Argentina. "Salta, The beautiful "! And it is. Situated in the Lerma Valley in the Northwest, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. We arrived there after going through Resistencia in the "Chaco" on a 15 hour bus! Not much to see in Resistencia apart from hundreds of statues dotted around the city. We only spent the afternoon visiting the centre while we were waiting for our nex Mind you we are getting quite used to the long travels by bus, especially when you get overnight buses with dinner and breakfast included. Nice! Oh! and a movie or two also. Long distance travel is very well organised with buses very well equipped with comfy reclining armchairs. Europe should learn from their southamerican counterparts.We managed to get a very good hostel, owned by a german guy who made very homely indeed. It's called the "Los Cardones", the "Cacti". There is a reason for that. All around Salta, especially in the "Valle Calchaquies" which we went to, there are cacti ( not cactuses ) everywhere amongst valleys, mountains, plains.... It's impressive. It's like a desert landscape covered by cacti. (see photos). Salta
itself is stunning, it impressed us both. We arrived a time of the year when they are celebrating the pilgrimage of "El Senor y la Virgen del Milagro". I tell you, people here take religion seriously. They walk ( grannies, grandads, the whole family and kids ) from the nearby villages ( I'm talking 180km away and beyond) for 3 days and nights, non stop, no hotels to stay in etc... until they get to Salta and gather in the main cathedral where there is a procession.
The town itself is filled with lots of colonial buildings. We also climbed 1070 stairs to get to the top of Salta on "Cerro de San Bernardo" which gives a view of the whole Salta.
The next day, we went to start our trip to the "Valle Calchaquies" in Cachi, 157km away. As we were going to the top, Renata gave up on her "reporter" duties and slept on the minibus taking us to Cachi. The road is very sinuous and the area is best known for its contrast of colours and its unique geography that ranges from the mountain desert to the subtropical forest. The colours are amazing. As we get to
Cachi, we notice that it is a ghost town, noone around! Only to realise that 90% of the poulation of about 1000 people are in Salta or en route for the pilgrimage. Cachi is your typical northAndean village. People look different, of course they are native aborigene and they are very welcoming. We walked to the top of Cachi where there is a "Theme Park". Now, don't expect Disneyland or something like that. It is actually a reproduction village of indigenous Calchaqui people and how they used to live. Buildings such as the church, school and homes are made of just stones and mud. Extraordinarily cool in summers and warm in winters. We got onto the traditional village life ( see photos much further ), supervised by the lamas.
After a day well spent in the mountains, we headed back to Salta to our hostel in a cramped Renault Kangoo for 4 hours. Ouch! bum hurts
The following day, it was "On the road again"( by Canned Heat ). I tell you, this tune has become our mascott tune for our travels.
This time we are heading south to Cafayate, 180 km away where we spent the next two nights
in "Hostel Ruta 40". Fantastic time! Cafayate is the home of boutique and quality wines. Needless to say that visits to Bodegas were a must. We also went for a trekk to rio Colorado in order to discover the hidden Cascades! The Colorado valley is home to indigenous Diaguita Calchaqui people. We were told the trekk would take about 2 hours. Great! As we get there, we see some local people who offered their services to guide us through the valley to the waterfalls. We declined the offer, being and feeling adventurous! Only to realise halfway through that the paths aren´t quite as straightforward as it may seem. It's up through the mountain, then down , avoiding huge rocks, then up again and then nothiong, no path, no way forward, no way back, at the top of a hill at an angle of 60 to 70º . ooohh, scary. As you look down, you get dizzy as we are very high in altitude. After careful thinking, we decided there was no way we would make it through and forget the cascades. Let's get back to the hostel.
Somehow, after trying a different way back to the left, we find a
pathway, which everyone uses which led to the waterfalls. Hurrah!!! A huge sigh as well, as seriously we thought we would leave our lives in the mountains. After another 45 minutes, we found the waterfalls and the pool. Huge satisfaction and reward!!! The water was freezing though. no joke!
The walk back to the hostel was much quicker. The evening was spent around the square in Cafayate, and we ended up in the hostel with a bottle of wine which we purchased in one of the wineries. Niiice!
Renata then had a Salsa lesson from " Amigo" ( she called everyone like that ). In Brasil it was "Antonio", here it's "Amigo". Who knows what she will the people in Chile, Bolivia and Peru???
And then it was " On the road again...." We got to get that CD when we get back home!
This time it was to get to Tucuman, huge city with no interest to us, spend the afternoon again, waiting for the bus to Mendoza!!!! Capital of wine in the whole South America.
Mendoza, here we come!!!
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