Gran Hotel Premier Salta

After getting another view of the hill of seven colours in the morning light, we left Purmamarca for the Salinas Grandes (salt flats) and the puna (the andean altiplano). <br><br>We've been spoiled as far as spectacular valleys go, and the drive to the salinas was no exception, with the bonus of a sealed road. The pass this time was about 4200 meters, with another version of steep, rock gorge, with cacti and hanging valleys. On the other side, we caught ...

... we went and got ice creams from a place near the south-west corner of the plaza, Mine was chocolate and vanilla and overloaded beyond belief, so I dripped my way down the street as the evening heat melted it quicker than I could eat. We sat in the plaza for a bit, then went back to the hostel. French guy, unbelievably, was parked on the internet again. At this point we decided to name him "Internet". Outside we sat round a table and had some drinks as we played cards till 2am.<br>

... are 3 children aged 15, 7 and 6, two girls and one boy (the youngest). Apparently they were sacrificed for mountain gods and once sacrificed would join the gods to look over the Inca villages. They were chosen due to their good looks and social background, it was an honour for the children to be chosen and they were provided all sorts of items in gold and silver with amazingly weaved blankets to be covered in. Indigenous people in the ...

... sadly left over a month ago. Salta soon cheered us up though, stunning mountains and high Andean plains, salt flats, condors, and frozen Incan mummies in a beautiful colonial city. Very nice pasties, a strange corn-filled leaf snack and a new kind of beer too.<br><br>Love Seth and Kate

... Het zou toch niet dat... nee dat meen je niet! Wel @"$%&amp;! tyfes, pokke, klote, @"$%&amp;! , godver de godver, pis! Dat was dus onze bus. Zitten we op zaterdag avond om 22:15 uur in een dorp waar geen pest te beleven is en kunnen we ook nog eens een nieuw kaartje kopen. Teringzooi! Hein en Lisenka niet blij :-( Maar goed, we zijn dus lekker in Salta, waarschijnlijk het laatste stuk beschaving voor een lange tijd. Het is echt een verrekt mooie stad met veel koloniale ...

... of all citizens, including farmers. Perhaps there should be a maximum quota of free water above which farmers would have to pay a consumption charge? If my Spanish were better, I would have loved to discuss all of these issues with these guys for hours. Tour 2: Cardones, Condores y Cachi My second tour would take me west (the first tour was south of Salta) over the mountains and through the Parque Nacional Los Cardones to the small town ...

... I miss them and things about home. With April comes Spring Baseball and the excitement my friends and I share about the chances for our beloved A's, which is just one example of the nostalgia I began to feel towards life back home. Additionally, the conversations shared with new friends met on the road are interesting, but they feel a bit more of a time filler, though perhaps this would change when I ventured ...

... then return on the self same bus for another 3 hours. I'm not sure either myself or Pete had really thought this one through. For although Irusya was incredibly beautiful the 6 hour bus journey over unlevel roads in a pretty dodgy bus stuffed with smelly travellers was less than pleasurable. I think I would have stayed overnight if I could have re-done the trip and maybe gone on a trek through the surrounding area. Superb place once you got ...

... wir recht sicher sein, dass heute auch niemand weiter mehr ankommt. So gern wir zelten wollen, das lassen wir mal lieber, denn es sieht nicht besonders sicher aus, und wir erinnern uns daran, dass San Antonio nebenbei auch noch auf ueber 4,000m ueber dem Meer liegt, und da wird es sicher bald kalt. Wir suchen uns also eine feste Unterkunft, was sich als gar nicht so einfach herausstellt, denn die meisten Herbergen sind voll. Erstaunlich, denn in seiner staubigen Trostlosigkeit ...

... change Chillean Pesos into Bolivars (Bolivian Pesos). It appears that no one outside Bolivia wants their currency... Although we finally found an exchange that had a quoted Buy/Sell price for B$ when Matt reached the front of the queue he was informed that it was for "Information only"... We ask you, why! So, we're going to arrive in Bolivia tomorrow, into a town with no ATM and with no local currency of our own - and needing to catch a bus out ASAP. Should be fun.