Selva Montana Salta

... or bus to the Argentinian border, cross to Bolivia then two trains *couple of days travel*. Either way we realised we wouldn't have time to make the trips and come back via a 'south pass' route for our flight to New Zealand. <br>We spent all afternoon trying to decide what to do. There were so many pros and cons. Me (being the typical extrovert) I like to talk out the decision process, where as Mike is quite happy just to ponder silently and wait for a ...

... stuff them up in your cheek and your saliva breaks them down. Bica (bicarbonate) can also be used to assist in the breakdown. So off we went with a cheek full of coca leaves to our next stop. We stopped at this beautiful train bridge that is the main import/export route with Chile. It´s all through the mountains and at one point climbs 1000m by goign back and forth up a "Z" pattern having to go forward then reverse. Next ...

... and lots of really nice buildings and squares and parks. It has a cafe culture similar to what you would find in Europe which we took full advantage of. We arrived from Chile after a stunning journey through desert, mountains (we went up to 5000m) and crazy rock formations. At the border between Chile and Argentina we were all taken off the bus with our rucksacks and taken into an enormous warehouse where we put down our rucksacks and then we all had to line up ...

... si 4500m altitudine. Si am facut cunostinta cu masajul puna. Adica 120km prin hartoape. Dupa vreo 3 ore prin puna, am ajuns la San Antonio de los Cobres (si nu se refera la serpi, ci la cupru). Oraselul este la 3800m si a aparut ca urmare a exploatarii cuprului si a aparitiei caii ferate "Los Nubes". Si ca sa vedeti ca se poate si la altii, nu numai la noi, cand a fost gata calea ferata pentru exploatarea miniera, s-a terminat cuprul!! Si au facut-o ...

April 16-23, 2009: Salta, Cafayate, Cachi, SS de Jujuy, Tilcara, La Quiaca; Argentina &amp; Villazon, Tupiza; Bolivia Blending Colonial Charm with Indigenous Culture in Salta I spent about a week exploring NW Argentina. The region is known for its agricultural and livestock products, tobacco growth and its verdant valleys that juxtapose fantastic red rock canyons and cacti. Salta is one of the largest cities in the area and was my base of ...

... been sacrificed more than 500 years ago. Interesting to say the least, and amazing to believe they were in such great condition (thanks to low temperature/humidity, and thermal stability at such great heights). Day two was spent with a Polish biologist (i don`t even know his name!), and a trip up to San Bernardo hill via cable car, taking in the view that was the town of Salta (probably not worth it), and then going down the 1021 steps to the ...

... huge aircraft hangars somewhere in the Andean wilderness to avoid scareing the local children. Once again it is painfully apparent that no one has let the Latin population in on the secret that vegetables are good for you, a sad slice of tomato looks like it surrendered on my plate and watched all its buddies run for the hills. Second only to the meat in quantity is the oil used, leaving my steak swimming in liquid reminiscent of a very recent shark ...

... the border crossing at Aguas Blanco, Bermeco (with a really irritating guy who kept on rapping his knuckles off the roof of the car. Makes me realise how irritating my tapping is - although I do keep in time) and a 2 hour wait for the connecting bus. So we arived at the border and guess what? Nowhere to change money. Yes. The Boliviano is so stupdendously worthless that nobody apart from Bolivians want it. So I had no cash at 1.00am, waiting ...

... with this being rainy season it was not worth the risk to DIY, so we looked at using tour companies instead. <br><br>4 of the 5 offices were closed (this 'siesta' business can be most inconvenient), but the one place we did venture into made Arthur Daley's Used Car Lot in Minder seem like the softest sell environment in the world; they were like vultures! <br><br>It was quickly ...