Blogs from Salta, Argentina, South America - page 4

Hello Everyone, I woke up cold so climbed down and got in with Neil to warm me up, He headed off to the main room to get internet whilst I had a shower once we got out of bed. We had a chilled day at Loki hostel; got a nice breakfast, wrote blogs, ate good food for lunch, drank beer, sent out couch surfing requests, up loaded photos and did our washing, well put it to be done. We have a place sorted for Santiago with couch surfing (it’s expensive in the city so we are now staying this a young couple and their little boy for 4 nights for free). Currently typing out requests for Buenos Aires, Rio, NYC and possibly Sao Paulo. Love Couch Surf!! We watched the film “Taken 3” in the room ... read more

The weather was bad in Salta and my flight had been delayed by one hour. Planes weren’t able to land in the airport and my plane was one of the many circling around in the air waiting for the storm to clear to be able to land. There was no mention of this in the airport. On the screens it read ‘ask the flight team’ but by word of mouth I got to hear why the flight had been delayed. I was furious and feeling ready to stage a revolution against ‘poor air services’ there and then , especially after my recent experiences. I’d paid a small fortune for this flight as I had done for my last flight. The least I expect when a flight is delayed by so long is a clear explanation and ... read more

DOGS UPHOLDING THE LAW Today I was passing a shop on my way to the main plaza where I noticed people were standing around. One stray dog barked alerting all the other stray dogs from the neighbourhood to tell them that there was trouble. These stray dogs are clever, not only can they cross roads alone but they can become faithful companions to humans, and sense abnormalities. For example, if there are a group of tourists with a guide, the dog attaches itself to the group (especially if they’ve been stroked or fed by the group), and if somebody merges into the group who shouldn’t be there, the dog begins to bark and alerts other dogs in the neighbourhood. I followed these particular dogs to find a policeman with a bloody nose after being punched, and ... read more

MUSEUM 2 was dedicated to showing ancient children (their bodies still frozen and preserved.) The Incas believed mountains were gods or ‘apus’ who protected nearby communities and therefore they built structures on mountains for rituals (many of which were built in Salta.) The children had been dead but preserved in freezing temperatures after having had rituals performed on their bodies and having been sacrificed to the Gods. One of the ‘sacred’ mountains where children were found on was Mount Llullaillaco. Archaeological digs and expeditons are being carried out all the time and more and more objects from the Incas are still being discovered.We got to see many recent expeditions on video tapes. MOUNT LLULLAILLACO Mount Llullaillaco is an inactive volcano located between Chile and Argentina. It is 6.739 metres high and used to mark the border ... read more

Days 70-72 our San Pedro hostel had one of the best breakfasts this trip so we loaded up for another long 12 hr travel day to Salta in Argentina for 2.5 days. While waiting at the bus station an independent Australian couple had a small backpack stolen from under their eyes & lost passports & whatever else. A heartbreaking scene to see their distress when told they weren't allowed to get on the bus as they did not have a passport to enter Argentina. Leaving San Pedro we retraced the road back to the turnoff to the Bolivian border but this time we had a very slow climb back up 2000 mtrs in in altitude. If a 12 hr bus ride can be considered pleasant this trip qualifies at least for 2/3 rds of the way ... read more