Shauard Hotel Salta

... drivers in the city so we fit in really well there! will try to get more photos up soon thanks for all you lovely messages

Off to Mendoza and Buenos Aires then crossing to Brazil via Iguazu falls next week, we are really having a ball but both a bit scared of going to Brazil .....heard a few stories but it will be good practice for Columbia

... for the rest of the day.


We awoke the following morning aching somewhat from the rafting but nevertheless we went for a horse riding day at a ranch in the pampas. On arrival breakfast was laid out for us and we were greeted by a really friendly family who lived at the ranch. Our group was just us, Rosie and Jill (her mum) and our 'gaucho'. This was Lee's first time on a horse so he was a bit nervous but was ...

... and canyons around here. It looks like unfortuantely the only way to do this is to hire a guide for about US$82. I suppose not bad for a 12 hour day including an english guide. The mtns are really high (4000 meters) and the roads really bad and windy so altitude considerations prevent renting a car myself. This is more than I was hoping to spend but it looks like the dollar got stronger since i got here (3 ...

... ended up ordering a kebab which was nothing like what I'd expected, no chile sauce and pitta, this was a meat and pepper sausage which quite frankly just looked vulgar sitting on my plate staring up at me staring back it in shocked distain. Regardless though, I ate it and it wasn't all bad. The group had bought a cake for me and all signed a card which was humorously passed around under the table as they all signed it and I pretended not to ...

... ne-a dus aproape, dar a tb sa urcam singuri. Si cum eram pe la vreo 3500m, am mai scos vreo 12 frunze de coca din saculetz si sa vedeti cum am urcat eu, da, eu, fara sa carai, fara sa ma vait, fara sa zic nimic. De fapt, de ce sa zic , Coca rules :D. Doi barbati din autocar au fost varza, cu tot cu frunze de coca. Au stat lati de la dus pana la intors. Nici cu ceai de coca nu i-au reparat. Unul din ei, dupa ce a bagat ca spartul la restaurant ...

Stopped off at a place called Tucuman in North Argentina for a few days before heading to the Capital Salta. It was pretty chilled and relaxed city and we had plenty of spanglish chat at dinner in the hostel with some Argentians. We met two American guys, Bobby and Brian which was great as we hooked up in Salta and went on a wee road trip. Got the bus to Salta which is a busy bustling city. We climbed the Cerro San Bernado ...

... point plan and USD135 reciprocal fee for US citizens wishing to enter the country. My first visit to the country, in Aug 2007, required no formalities to enter, but technically a US visitor now needs to show yellow fever immunization, hotel reservations, proof of financial solvency and other things to get through. I later heard horror stories at other border crossings of US citizens getting fleeced for USD150-200 and being forced to pay ...

11.01.2009 Wir kommen um 7.30 Uhr in Salta an und checken im "La Salamanca" Hostel ein. Wir wollen gerne ein Auto fuer einige Tage mieten, und Ilona aus Duesseldorf wuerde sich gerne fuer 2 Tage anschliessen. Ueber das Hostel buchen wir das Auto, dann gehen wir in die Stadt in ein Internetcafé und anschliessend Mittagessen. Unterwegs treffen wir auf zwei Maedels aus Mexiko, die mit uns zusammen ...

... which I´m not going to apologise for anymore!, and the guy sitting next to us had 4 burgers! A bigmac, 2 quarter pounders with cheese and a cheeseburger. Oh and two large fries. After watching him eat everything in site we went to see Dan in Real Life in the cinema upstairs, it was really good. I also found a Puss in Boots toy in the bathroom to go with my ...

... us another couple of minutes, ran back to collect Kathryn and the luggage and gratefully embarked. Serendipity, it appears, favours the prepared mind... A couple of glasses of wine later (for Matt at least) and we were nicely settling down to snooze when our conducter came up to offer us a choice of either Whisky or Champagne. We were very happy indeed with this bus! News of Salta proper to follow...