Salta, Argentina

Salta, Argentina

Welp, we made it out of Chile mostly intact. All we’re missing is one blue Nalgene bottle (MB), one red sports bra (me) and a whole lotta dry skin (MB is still peeling from the one day we went to the beach). However, dignity is still firmly in place. Or, it was when we left Chile. Argentina is a new country though, and so far it’s been great, from the moment we passed over the Andes in our private double decker bus till singing karaoke on a Monday night. Twice. Here’s the top five from Salta:





View from the bus coming into Argentina



Lounging: our favorite pastime.

5. Bus ride in: I’m not just saying this because Salta was lame and so the only cool part was a bus ride, but really, we had a pretty sweet deal. The bus left San Pedro around 11:30 in the morning with us and one other passenger, a guy from California named Parker. Not to mention that it was a double decker bus, so MB and I claimed the front half of the top deck and got a great view from the front window. Then we watched a pretty meh chick flick. Cried. After getting through Argentinian customs, we broke out the bottle of Pisco sour we’d brought on and drank the entire thing in about 30 minutes. Then we passed out. But somehow, this still wasn’t the best part. One of the bus drivers brought up about 20 snack boxes (with surprisingly good granola bars and fiber cookies) and dropped them on the seat behind us saying we could eat them all. Sounds great, right? But turns out there is a limit to how many granola bars and fiber cookies one can down without water or other supplemental snacks. Around this time, the bus started climbing up into the high planes of the Andes and on the Chilean side (the dry side) it was all gorgeous rock and desert and one dazzlingly white salt flat. The bus was going about 10 mph up the mountains, which was probably good since the turns were all pretty hairy for a double decker bus. But once we started going down on the other side of the mountains (into Chile) the scenery changed almost instantly. Turns out that’s the wet side of the mountains so everything was lush and green and it was this amazing valley with low sitting clouds. Once down in the valley we passed some adorable little villages (still lush and green) and tried to snap some pics out the front window without getting the bug splatters on the windshield in the way. After that it got dark and boring and became just another bus ride.



Looking out from the gondola



4. Cerro and the city: Since we’re no longer in Chile, we can no longer make use of our Rough Guide to Chile book, we decided to just Google “things to do in Salta, Argentina.” We got some good suggestions from various websites then set off into the city to explore. Our first stop was an atm and then the bus station (to get our tickets for our bus the next day to Iguazu) and then we took a gondola ride up the cerro on the edge of town. The view from the top was pretty nice, we could see the whole city, the cathedral, the soccer stadium, the airport, and then all the green hills around the edges. Once back in the city, we wandered around and looked at some of the famous churches. Later that night we went back to some of the churches, because they were supposed to be all lit up at night and really pretty. And they were. The next day, we wandered around some more, and for a while sat on a bench on one of the main pedestrian streets people watching. This backfired, and it seemed that the passerbyers were more interested in watching us than us watching them. We got totally once-overed by a little girl eating a cream puff and then a boy came along who was selling socks and asked if he could shine my shoes. I was wearing sandals that were basically flip flops, not sure what he thought he was going to shine,



Getting on the gondola

and what were the socks for?? I said “no gracias,” which was apparently really funny and he walked off laughing out loud snickering “no gracias? No gracias!! Hahahahahaha.” Mary Beth thought this was really funny and laughed so hard she cried. Later that afternoon we were walking along the same street and MB turned around really quickly and ran smack into a homeless man who snarled at her. She screamed.

Top of the Cerro

One of the churches lit up at night

3. Meeting single people: So, back to when we went up the cerro – on the way down, we decided to walk it instead of taking the gondola. We found a path with stairs that said it went right to the city center, so we started walking down and after a while heard voices coming from behind us also speaking English, and at least one that sounded definitely American. When the other group caught up to us we started talking with them and made three new friends (a tall German guy who mumbled, so even if I could pronounce his name I couldn’t really hear it anyways, a very blonde Dutch girl named Hannah and an American guy named Keith). We ended up walking and talking with them the rest of the way down the mountain and back in town MB and I led everyone (with the group leader skills picked up from Jeremy on the ski trip, obvi) to a market we’d read about on the internet that morning. After lunch – during which MB and I single-handedly finished two liters of beer – we split up from the group and went back to our hostel for a three hour nap. Day drinking really isn’t our thing. We met up with the same people later that night (although the German guy had been replaced by two more American girls from Iowa, Liz and Amy). Also, fun fact: Keith had decided that Iguazu Falls sounded like a cool place to go next and so had booked a bus ticket in the seat right next to us. More on him later, but it will be a long 24 hour bus ride. Although I guess it’d be pretty long anyways, 24 hours, right?

numnumnum

2. Tamales: At the market that MB and I led the group to, there was a sort of dingy food court area in the center that was full of local-looking people and beggars eating from places that all sold dirt cheap empanadas, pizza and tamales. We went for the tamales, and for a little under a dollar each, we just had a meal of tamale after tamale. They are different here though than in Texas – the tamales are short and round instead of long and thin, but omgosh they were delicious. We paired out tamales with two liters of beer and had quite the time. The next day, we returned to the tamale place for another round to serve as our hangover cure. No beer, just lots and lots of water.

1. La Vieja Estacion: Since MB and I had somehow been appointed group leaders (again, thanks brah) we met up with the group at the central plaza at 10pm and set off to look for the street where all the Peña’s were. Peña’s, we’d found out when Googling what to do in Salta, were popular places in Salta where you got dinner and a live folk music show. We went to La Vieja Estacion, one that had been recommended online, and for a cover charge of 15 pesos enjoyed a great dinner and great show. The show started with traditional Argentine dancing and MB and I (and the other girls in our group) drooled over the younger guy dancer who was described as “the most dangerous man in the room.” There were two sets of partners dancing (each a guy and a girl) and the younger pair was on the side closest to our table. I don’t know if it was the mojito we’d had before dinner or the bottle of red wine we split, but the dancing was super intense and super sexy. At one point, MB turned to me and yelled (b/c the music was very loud) “I’M SO TURNED ON RIGHT NOW,” which I think shocked some of the people at our table and was not repeated when they asked, “wait, what did you just say?” Later, the show turned into a four man band playing folk music, then back to the dancers, and then a family of drummers who basically did a really great drummline show. Four hours and 1.5 bottles of wine later, we were having a pretty good time, and not to toot my own horn (but beep beep) I think it’s safe to say MB and I were the life of the party. After the show we decided to go further down the street where the bars were supposed to be, but because it was a Monday night, most were pretty empty. We settled on one that had karaoke and was practically empty except for our table. However, two cuervo shots later and MB and I (again, life of the party here) were up on stage singling Sweet Caroline, and a while later, Wannabe. All in all, successful night. Unfortunately, the next morning – not so successful.

P.S. This is what the alphabet would look like if Q and R did not exist. But really, I'll post videos of La Vieja Estacion when we get to Iguazu, the upload was taking forever and we have a bus to catch!