Hostal Los Reyes Salta

27th - 29th September 09

Spent half the afternoon on city buses trying to get to the cinema. Got on the wrong bus initially and ended up several miles out of town then had to get another, kindly helped out by a load of bus drivers on break, who were also laughing at our incompetence. Got to a different cinema in the end and managed to catch a flick called sector 9 about aliens which was actually quite good. Got back to the hostel with just enough time to eat what remained of our food in ...

... felt like I was in Rome; beautiful manicured gardens, surrounded by cobbled streets and attractive, grandiloquent architecture. There were also loads of teenage school kids in uniform hanging out in the plaza. I sat down and admired the view and the weather. After a little while I was approached by a merchant of the finest tat, carrying a big wooden board resplendent with hand-crafted pendants and necklaces of various description. I had a bit of a chat with him; he ...

... some of the most stunning in the country. With the Andes nearby, and the geological effects of neighbouring Chile's earthquakes, the northwest is home to large mountains, a stunning kaleidoscope of earth colours as well as the cultural influences of the mighty Incans. Having researched the area before our trip - and having spied it on postcards in local shops - we knew we had to go. A discussion ensued, and, informed by excursion ...

... and went for a walk through some markets and around the streets looking for a McDonald's that Laura had us searching for. After failing to find it we discovered that the map
she had was for a different city.

We continued to walk around the city centre, looking for places we could eat later on. We returned to the hostel at 3.30pm so Daniel could watch the football at 4pm. Whilst Daniel watched the footy the girls had a lay down and rested, before it was time to go for tea. We ...

... There is a dominant male, the relincho, who protects the herd and whose teeth can actually stave off a puma! There are apprentice relinchos who eventually go through a rite of passage by leaving the herd and training in pairs to eventually become the head relincho. Guanacos will never be seen alone except for in one circumstance. Once the old relincho has retired and been replaced, he no longer has a purpose in living. He will thus ...

... wealthy area in most Indian cities. As we continued northwards all the way to Salta, people began to look more indigenous, like the populations of southern Peru and western Bolivia. The colors and clothing people wore also bore distinctive indigenous cultural influence. The provinces of Tucuman and Jujuy are the poorest in the country. Contrary to in BA and other parts of Argentina where people are doing ...

... visited the top of San Bernardino, the mountain overlooking Salta. The top afforded us an incredible view of the city and gave us some cool air to breath. We hired a car and head off north, first up and over through more wind-y crazy mountain roads that lead through the jungle, this usually means it takes several hours to pass through maybe a hundred kilometres. You can't be too sure of arrival time based on distance, not in South America ...

... naechsten Tag auf. Platz fuer unsere erste Zeltnacht finden wir auf einem Campingplatz hinter der Kirche. Wir stellen unser Zelt in sichere Entfernung von einem Pferdegehege, in dem ein junger Hengst sein Temperament zu zuegeln versucht. Wir bauen zum ersten Mal unsere neue Ausruestung auf und stellen beruhigt fest, dass alles komplett vorhanden ist. Wir fuehlen uns gerade wie grosse Abenteurer, da trifft ein franzoesisches Rentnerpaerchen per Fahrrad auf dem Zeltplatz ein. Sie ...

... up a road (by 3 other lorries connected together), onto the road we on and then back down another road. The lorry weighed about 60 tonnes and it had 160 wheels supporting it! Sun 24 Feb We spent today doing hardly anything apart from eating, trying to sleep and reading which was great. We did go out in the evening to meet up with Kristine who we met on the previous days trip for a drink and then a lovely meal at La Vieja Estancio where I had ...