Hotel del Virrey Salta

... friendly Argentine skies and hopefully making our way all the way down to (very nearly) the bottom of Patagonia where the tentative plan is to get a active again with some serious trekking, in all likelihood to be closely followed by some serious whining, complaining and dredging up tales of mountainous woe. Hmm, can anyone else picture a movie starring one of the Baldwin brothers nobody can remember?<br><br>In the news:<br><br>Discarded Underwear Becomes Argentine Legal ...

... office armed with parcels only to find out that the post office for international parcels was miles away and closed an hour ago.  The only service they offered was for their version of DHL which would cost us three times the value of the items in the package.   We left looking like a disgruntled Mr Bean carrying our parcels.  <br><br>We find out later that no-one in Argentina likes to use Aduana, their parcel service.  To send a parcel you will require your passport which is ...

... was alot to do with it, it just goes to prove that politics has always existed.<br>The children that were chosen for sacrifice were the most beautiful, and from the higher up families in the tribe.<br>There was 3 mummified children found ontop of a mountain near Salta, an expedition went up there in 1999 and found the 3 children in the one grave.<br>They had been buried alive accompanied with little trinkets to give to the Gods, each child had different gifts all wrapped up and ...

... a heavy load. We did get to see a good diversity of wineries though. We saw mass production (Carlos Rossi style), we saw certified organic, we saw small boutique, and one winery that only produces 3 kinds of wine and they only sell them from the winery. It was quite a day. After an afternoon siesta, we headed out for dinner and found our new favorite restaurant. It´s called restaurant Colorado, and the people who own it are from Colorado! It was was so nice and so ...

... was 1068 steps and were glad to be doing some exercise again! We had the most amazing and best value Asado (BBQ) of our whole trip in Inti Huasi hostel. the asado cost 30 pesos approximately $8, all you can eat and drink ( vino tinto). I never seen so many interesting vegetable dishes pumpkin with cheese, peppers stuffed with eggs, mashed potatoes, spinach pie, and more and lovely tasty steaks! We had a super road trip ...

... educating the spirit as much as the mind and afternoons are dedicated to art and literary activities even Yoga classes. Children here are encouraged to have a strong, independant voice, something which to an outsider appears close to anarchy but something which I'm growing to enjoy, amid the shouts of "Profe, Profe Daniel. ¿Where....h-are...dj-you....frrrom?". The staff here are extremely welcoming and have bent over backwards to accommodate me into their lower school - I teach from Grade 1 ...

... but then I won't be able to see out the window", Israeli "but the sun is in my eyes" German "yes, but I am enjoying looking out the window and if I close the curtain I wont be able to look"....Israeli gives up and goes back to her massive group at the back of the bus and clearly speak about the German loudly for a bit of time. The Israelis also appear to really be into their trashy films as 'what happens in vegas' was on at one point and the DVD kept jumping ...

... in Salta, nice city but I don´t think I would have chosen to be here three times! But health takes priority over all else, especially Patrick's. We have enjoyed the last few days here, chose a different hostel this time and it's like a big happy family. There was a big bbq last night, very late, a lot of imbibing, sore head today. Patrick had fun at the park today, there were four huge trampolines with harnesses connected to big ...

... and rush across the street in the rain and run up the hostels steps and ring the bell. A guy answers the bell. I forget my Spanish and asks him quickly in English has he any beds. he quickly says "No". ****, that is the last thing you want to hear. He pulls me in and gets on the phone. There is a bed in another hostel that is close. "How close?" I ask. "Very close" he says. He leads me out of the hostel and across a main road. There is a guys ready ...

Four hours from Villa Unión to La Rioja, and there directly onto a bus going north, to Salta. I was heading to Bolivia, but I knew this guy, Ismael, I had met on the internet a while back and decided I'd stop for a day and say Hi. My experiences visiting people in South America I had known from internet had so far been extremely positive, but it's always better to be aware and not to expect too much.<br><br>Ismael ...