Blogs from Salta, Argentina, South America - page 8

Diena prasideda rytine ekskursija po slėnį, dalis kompanijos tie patys žmonės buvę vakarykštėje ekskursijoje. Kalnai tikrai gražūs, pavažiuojam vis po keliolika kilometrų ir sustojam gražesnėse vietose apžiūrėti kalnų kartais paedami šiektiek gilyn. Sustojam pasifotkinti su lamomis. Slėnio pabaigai du natūralūs amfiteatrai kalnuose su puikia akustika. Prie paskutinio amfiteatro mus palieka, nes čia lauksim autobuso į Salta miestą. Taigi važiuojam iki Saltos, pasivaikštau čia porą valandų, miestas gan didelis bet jame dauguma namų nedidesni nei trijų aukštų išskyrus miesto centre esančius kelis didesnius pastatus. Į akis krenta gražūr ir skirtingai dekoruoti balkonai. Miesto centras nedidelis, o už centro nieko įdomaus ir nėra, tad poros valandų jam apžiūrėti visai užtenka. Keliauju atgal į stotį ir važiuoju į Jujuy. Čia mane pasitinka simpatiška 20metė chouchsurferė vardu Sara. Nors jau... read more

Superbe journée à découvrir la vallée à 2h de Salta. Que de couleurs, les roches et formations alternant rouge et ocre, le vert de la végétation, le ‘kaki’ du rio qui coule abondamment (nous sommes en saison des pluies). Au bas, près des vignobles et de Cafayate, les bodegas pour gouter le torrontes, vin blanc sucré local, bien délicieux ma foi. Alors certains diront que cela ressemble à d’autres endroits (un lieu est même nommé le petit Grand Canyon), une italienne a osé parler de Petra du bout des lèvres (sacrilège !), l’ambiance et la route unique me font penser à la vallée de la mort, mais en fait tous les éléments que j’ai listés en font un lieu unique. Il y avait aussi des lamas (pour les touristes), je sais que tu attends les photos ... read more

Iruya--The Hidden Kingdom of Shangri-La From charming little Tilcara, I traveled an hour to the transport hub of Humahuaca where my suitcase was flung on top of another ancient bus. I was in Northern Argentina´s Quebrada de Humahuaca, a World Heritage Site, a land of indigenous adobes in multicolored canyons, and we were headed to the end of the road. After an hour, we turned off the asphalt and onto a dirt road and wheezed and switchbacked up to the cloud-shrouded 4000mt/13,000 ft pass of the red, green and violet gorge. Repeatedly, we came within inches of the precipice as we rounded the dozens of curves. No guardrails here--just white-painted rocks to mark the edge of the road. I was lucky to have a front-row, window seat on this thrilling, roller-coaster ride though we did have ... read more

In the 5 days we spent in the Salta / Jujuy provinces in NW argentina, we took almost 400 pictures and videos. The scenery up there is just mind blowing; we couldn´t stop taking pictures. It will be a while before I get them all uploaded with the sluggish internet around here (in Bolivia now). Needless to say I´m quite a bit behind with pictures and the blog, but it will get done eventually. Anywho... Our bus to Salta was the longest bus ride so far: 18 hours. Another bummer was there is no company that offers a super cama (seat that lays all the way flat) on that stretch. But this time we wised up and took sleeping pills which made the ride much more bearable. The bus left Mendoza at around 8pm, and got ... read more

Day 70 We both woke on the 24 hour bus ride to Salta at around 8am having slept fairly well but with more or less a full day of travelling still to go, we passed the time reading (Mark now half way through the sixth book in his Harry Potter marathon), napping and eating. The food on board was quite good but was mainly bread and ham! When we finally arrived in Salta it was around 6.30pm so we made our way to our hostel 'Backpackers Suites' and settled in. Having slept quite a bit we didn't feel too tired so took a walk into the centre of Salta via one of the night markets and finished up in the main square where a lot of the bars and restaurants seemed to be. A bit further ... read more