The Quebrada of Salta

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Ola,

The bus ride from San Pedro de Atacama was long but beautiful! We rose up and into the Altiplano at approximately 5000 metres before continuing on to the Argentinian border where we had to wait for a painfully long time because three of the four men working there were too busy checkig facebook. When we finally got to show a border guard our passports, the woman we had was slamming with the stamp down with such force that we were surprised she was not putting a hole in the table. We continued along the road and went past some very pretty lakes before entering some mountains. At this point the mountains became a canyon that we sliced our way through as we ascended to the summit of the mountain on the otherside. There were plenty of snaking turns, and beautiful vistas and when we arrived at the top, we thought it was over. Oh, were we ever wrong. We now had to go down the otherside! We had to descend 3286 metres down to the valley floor below! The whole mountain side was switchbacks! We snaked our way down and the first moutain and then we left the switchbacks and started on the circuitous curves that stretched the rest of the way along the mountainside down to the valley below. If this road wasn't enough, the colours in the mountains put it over the edge. The whole route was a vivid array of greays, browns, greens, purples and reds. It was breathtaking the whole way down and almost everyone was taking photos out of the bus window. We arrived in Salta and were able to check into our hostel without any issues. The hostel is great because they include a free dinner and they have a pool! It's a little too cold to swim, but it's the thought that counts right?

The weather was kind of grey much of our time in Salta so we just wandered around as much as we could. We went into a couple of museums including the Museo Historico del Norte and the Museo Arquelogica de Alta Montaña. MAAN, has three mummies in it that were found on the summit of Llulliacuo volcano at an altitude of 6700 metres. Only one was on display, named Lighting Girl for some reason, but she was better preserved than Juanita, the mummy we got to see when we were in Arequipa. We went to visit the cathedral as well as the Iglesia de San Francisco, which is almost so ornate that it borders on gaudy.
There was a barbecue at the hostel that night and we got our first taste of Argentinian beef. It was great!!! There was also an impromtu concert from some of the staff. The big bartender, who is Peter's height but weighs double what Peter does could sing, play guitar and play the violin amazingly well.

The next day was sunday and, oddly enough, Mother's Day in Argentina so Happy Mother's Day to everyone! Everything was closed unfortunatly so we really had nothing to do. We wanted to go to the Contemporary Art Museum, but it was closed for fumigation so we had to make do without. For dinner, we got to eat unlimited empañadas, which are little baked goods filled with meat and vegetables. Big bartender made them, so he really does seem to be able to multi-task. We ended up having dinner with some Irish people and a Scot. We then proceeded to playing cards with them and enjoy and adult beverage or five. To make a long story short, we sand a lot of U2, all out of key of course, and ended up closing down the bar and going to bed at 5am. Those Irish always know how to have a good time!

On our last day in Salta the sun finally came out! We booked our bus out of town and then headed to the Teleferico that would take us up the mountain for views over the city. On the way up, the warning speaker mentioned to stay calm in case of "Technical Inconveniences" which included if they cable should break and the gondola should fall. Needless to say, we were instilled with confidence. The area on top of the mountain was very beautiful with a lot of greenery and man-made waterfalls. We then wandered through the city, this has been a bit of a theme of ours in Salta, before going out to dinner.

In Argentina, they like beef. Any cut, any part. Argentinians eat it all. We went to a restaurant called El Viejo Jack, which had been recommended to us by the staff at the hostel. The menu, as expected, was in spanish so we ordered a platter called Pequeña Jack. It came with a salad and fries. When it arrived, it was on one of those little elements that keeps all the meat warm. We looked at the meat, and it became apparent that there was a variety of body parts and internal organs present. There was rib, kidneys, intestine, chorizo and blood sausage. It was good and we ate it all, almost, but next time, we'll just order a steak and leave the intestines to someone else.

Bye for now,

Valerie and Peter

Things we learned in Salta:
-The city is shut on sundays. As a result, the bars are full on saturday nights
-Intestines have a very interesting texture
-Restaurants don't open before 8pm. Snack often
-The Irish know how to play drinking games (as if that is a surprise)
-Apparently, it is possible to hit your travelling companion in the eye from the upper bunk while asleep

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Comments

[Katrina]

Haha, How exactly did the last "things we learned" occur?? The only thing I can imagine is if Peter was on the top bunk, turned over and swung his arm over the side, hitting Val. Ouch!