Seeking out sunshine in Salta….
Friday, June 22nd, 2007After nearly two months in Patagonia Tucky and I both decided that we were ready for some sunshine, also that we were running out of time if we were going to see any other countries before we have to head to the Galapagos (again – what a tough life!)
So, on 3rd June we took two overnight busses back to back (we were smelly I can tell you) to Salta in northern Argentina. We took Andesmar buses and oh my God, we played Bus Bingo! Bow you don´t get that with National Express. As we were leaving Bariloche we also eventually managed to see the Lanin Volcano we missed in San Martin de los Andes, which was spectacular against the sunset.
We stopped for the day in the middle in Mendoza and it wa so nice to be back there. I´m not sure if it was just because it was sunny but I was so pleased to be there again. I really love that city, not sure why since there´s not exactly heaps to do, its just nice. Anyway, we left there on the 8:30pm bus to Salta arriving at 13:00 the next day. Unfortunately disaster struck at about midnight and Tucky got really ill and spent a rather unpleasant journey mostly in the toilet. So we spent the first night in Salta in the hostel (Alcazar – pretty ok) having an early night and getting the little poppets strength back up!! Luckily he was feeling better by the next day so we were able to explore a bit more.
Since we had done so much shopping in El Bolson market and also had winter stuff we didn´t need now, we both had big parcels to send home in Barlioche, unfortunately the customs people there were taking a weeks tea break or something so we couldn´t post them there and had to carry them all the way up to Salta. So the following day we thought we would quickly post them home. Quickly is not a word that is used carelessly by the Argentine postal system. We qued for an hour before being told that we would have to cover our parcels in brown paper or else it would cost us four times more (?!), So brown paper duley purchased we went back to the office at 12:00 only to be told that they shut at 12:30 and so couldn´t serve us – obviously!! Anyway, long story short we had to go back and do the whole thing again the next morning totalling a over 4 hours post office time – a record?
Anyway, Salt itself was lovely, sunny and clean with nice places to eat, nice churches and a but more of an interesting feel to it than more southern Argentine cities. The further north and closer the border we were we began to see more of an indiginous influence, especially when we took a two day 4×4 trip out to the smaller towns of Catchi and Cafayate. Unfortunately, our second day in Salta, just after taking a city tour and having dinner it was my turn to be ill, you know the type of treveller ill I mean – you don´t need the details! Anyway, this was not a pleasant prospect for a two day 4×4 journey to the middle of know where?!
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