Salta, Cayafate

These past few days have been busy, busy, busy! Well, truth be told I've spent a lot of time on buses.
I arrived in Salta on Wed and checked it out for a couple of days to recover from my awesome bus ride, and give my foot a rest.

Built in 1858

 A wee history lesson. Salta is both the name of the province and the capital city of said province. It (the city) was founded in 1582 at the behest of the Spanish invaders (Francisco de Toledo, to be exact) as a link between Lima and Buenos Aires. It was ok to visit, there's an interesting Archaeological museum (a small one) with quite a creepy mummy of a sacrificed 6 year old girl. The people of the region (pre-Inca), used to offer their most beautiful children (one girl, one boy) to their gods each year. They would be buried alive on the mountains - after being drugged - and the climate being so dry, would perfectly preserve the bodies. This was considered a great honour. 

ANYHOO, Salta has a lovely centre place with its old buildings, notably the cathedral. I tried to go in but there was a service going on, when I tried again later it was all locked up. Apparently, people steal things from the church - apparently nothing is sacred! Especially when you're poor and your local church has the virgin Mary wearing a gold crown...

 

View from San Bernardo

For kicks one day I took the cable car up the hill overlooking Salta. Cable cars freak me out...especially when they pass over the roll-y bits when they come to a post...<shudders> Well, I got to the top, surely because I stayed very, very still while going up, and well, I saw the city from the top. One really weird thing was the aerobics/spin class that was going on up there...and the weight training area...odd. Speaking of which, I noticed in several areas that,what I initially thought were kids´ playgrounds, were actually exercises areas. Games to work your calves, do sit ups, chin ups, stomach crunches...you name it - stuff you´d find at the gym. It is admirable to get your people fit like that...I must say that this is a VERY high carb diet.

One thing I found fascinating is that this is about the same size as Canberra - I went out last night to get some papas fritas (ok, busted, it's french fries...they were fantastico) and the place was packed! It was hard to move around there were so many people - all the shops were open and there was music in the air! Thinking about civic on a Friday night at 8pm....not so much.

Yesterday I caught a bus to Cayafate...known for it´s wine. I thought it would be a nice chill ride through the mountains...nice. No. About 30min after we left Salta we stopped and picked up a bunch of school kids - pre teens...and they had portable speakers...need I say more?

The noisy and annoying kids aside, it was an absolutely beautiful drive. The mountains were spectacular. As we drove into Cayafate, you could tell that the vineyards had had their influence on the place. Everything looked like it was rural Argentina, but it was all sparkly and new. Some place that the rich tourists could go to and feel safe? Dunno. Apparently there is a big American ex-pat community in the area. 

I did make a friend though...he was long and lanky...and German! Poor guy...I folded my Cayafate map into a makeshift bowl and gave him the rest of my water...he was so thirsty - some of the other tourists thought I was crazy for letting such a vicious dog near me. Interesting place to visit for the day.

Gunter





San Telmo Markets and the Recoleta cemetery

This morning - after sleeping like the dead - Nina (my couch surfing buddy) and I went to the San Telmo markets on the bus.

Originally these markets were for antiques, but have become an anything goes kind of market. So I saw everything from very expensive antique crystal chandeliers to plastic gadgets that thread needles for you...yes, I did contemplate getting one (the needle thingy, not the chandelier) but I managed to resist all of the temptations today
...apart from the choripan...YUM! Basically a hotdog-like creature but made with, you guessed it, chorizo. I bought it from this outdoor vendor who had 3 massive BBQs going...it was delicious, no wonder there was a line up.

 

 

Yesterday, I wandered over to the Recoleta Cemetery (it´s really close to where I´m staying).

It has been compared to the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris and it´s full of magnificent crypts---4700 all up. This is the final resting place of the wealthy and influential - it is where Eva Peron is buried. It's the most expensive real estate in Buenos Aires.


The families buried here continue to pay for the crypts and the space they take up. As another family member dies they are placed in the upper layer of the crypt and the previous deceased goes down to the lower level. As that space gets filled the bones are collected and placed into a smaller containers.

Eva Peron's grave - it was full of people...both inside and out
- some more lively than others