Salta Linda

They call it Salta the beautiful, it is. I enjoyed the time I spent in the city and surrounding areas but I had a bit of a rough start. When I went to get my backpack from under the bus, it was basically soaking wet. The straps were wet enough to imprint on my shirt and the hostel that was supposed to be close, was much farther away than they claimed. When I got to my room, my lonely planet had expanded to twice its size from the water and days later, it's still not completely dry... Maybe it's a sign I shouldn't be traveling with a Lonely Planet from 1997 ... My newly-washed clothes were wet too though. It happens I guess, and this was a super nice bus too! Lesson learned: use a rain fly at all times.

That night, I spent about four hours exploring Salta... I went up to the high point at San Bernardo Hill... I explored the town's center and churches... I visited the Sunday-only fair on Balcarce street. Salta has some of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen, especially the Church of San Francisco :)

I love the architecture in this city and the cities ambiance makes you feel calm, happy, and appreciative of what you get to see around you. Balcarce's fair was okay - about three blocks of vendors selling artesenal goods. I think it's partially because of cultural insensitivity and partially because I know I don't have the room or will to carry souvenirs from every place that I'm really just not impressed by local handicrafts. I watched a Pena show (folkloric music and dancing) while I had my dinner. This was okay too... I am never really impressed by these kinds of cultural shows either, but I always end up going...

So Salta is a major hub to do tours to other places, and that's what I did. I went through the very beautiful Quebrada de Las Conchas (Shell Gorge) on the way to Cafayate - famous for its production of Torrontes white wine. We went to Nanni winery and got to sample some of their wines. They are 100% organic but the tour guide told us that Argentine's could care less about it being certified organic.. they just drink it for the taste. I'm with the Argentines. :) I also got to try wine ice cream, of the Torrontes and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties at the supposed "creador de helados de vino." It tastes exactly like wine! Awesome! The best part was probably the tunas-flavored ice cream that I had. Really, really amazing! (Tunas grow on cacti and I think are called prickly pears in the US.)

On another tour, I went through the Quebrada de Humuhuaca, a UNESCO world heritage site recognized for its history and beauty. The highlight of the tour was a stop in super small town Purmamarca, which sits at the base of the famous seven-colored hill. It was all very beautiful and such a change in scenery from where I'd been for most of the last two months: Patagonia. I think honestly though, UNESCO site or not, the Quebrada de las Conchas > Quebrada de Humuhuaca. I probably didn't need to do the Humuhuaca tour either since my bus from Salta to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) passed through the quebrada, the seven-colored hill, and the incredibly beautiful Salinas Grandes. Even though I'd seen some of the sights before, it was the MOST BEAUTIFUL BUS RIDE EVER!! I felt very lucky to be able to take in such amazing landscapes with really quite dramatic changes in scenery throughout the bus ride.