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Salta la linda
Entry 8 of 37 | show all | print this entry |
In the last few days I´ve left the Andes and the tropics, having just passed south of the Tropic of Capricorn. From Uyuni I took another comfortable train south to Villazon, on the Argentine border. On the train I met a fellow round-the-world-er from Northern Ireland, who went east on the same airline deal I´m on and is now near the end of his trip.
Leaving Bolivia was a snap, but when we walked across the bridge to La Quiaca, Argentina, a long line was forming and the office hadn´t opened yet. After about half an hour an fearsome Aryan-looking Argentine military guy went through the line asking for (and keeping) the passports of all the white-looking people. He brought all of to the front of the line and then worryingly wandered around the border area with our passports for awhile. Finally he went into the office and shortly handed out our newly-stamped passports. This was all before the regular line had even moved, of course. I don´t think any of us wanted the preferencial treatment, but it´s hard to decline an armed man whose language you can´t speak! This kind of thing would never happen in proudly indigenous-majority Bolivia ...
In La Quiaca I had coffee with my N. Irish friend while waiting for the southbound bus. Most of the passengers were heading for Salta, the first big city in northern Argentina, but I got off after about 3 hours in Tilcara.
Tilcara is a tiny town in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a rocky canyon whose walls contain rock of every color of the rainbow. Although still in the Andes, it is significantly lower than Uyuni and therefore much warmer -- in fact, it was positively hot during the day. It has a beautiful square that is continuously full of artisan stalls and (Argentine) hippies making jewelry and playing guitar. My lodging was a cute hotel up the hill from the center of town, and made up of cabins with hammocks! Still tired and a little ill (cold) from Uyuni, I spent a fair bit of time just lying in a hammock in the warm air reading Sherlock Holmes stories. :) It really was a terrific town in which to recover. Just outside of town, on another hill, is Pucara, a partially-restored prehispanic town. Thoroughout the ruins are giant cacti similar to the ones I saw on the Uyuni tour, many of them seemingly scorched by lightening.
Yesterday I took a 3-4-hour bus south to Salta, one of the most beautiful cities I´ve seen. It´s a medium-sized city on the edge of the Andes, retaining a lot of colonial architecture. Last night, after more than briefly succumbing to the first TV I´ve had on my trip, I went out for dinner around 9:00. This was actually a little early, since Argentines eat around 10:00-10:30 on average. The streets were absolutely packed with people, partly because there´s a festival beginning called Cristo de Milagro. Some number of years ago I can´t remember, Salta was experiencing a series of damaging earthquakes. After the image of Cristo de Milagro was paraded through town, the earthquakes stopped. As a result, every September 15th this is done.
Walking around the city, it is obvious what a wealthy country Argentina is compared to its neighbor to the north. It was also noticeably on the four-lane paved highways on the way here -- in Bolivia, most highways are bone-shaking dirt roads. However, because of currency problems experienced here a few years ago, the prices aren´t much higher here than in Bolivia. Some years ago, Argentina was one of the 10 most expensive countries in the world, but no more.
Anyway, the center of the city at Plaza 19 de Julio was magical last night. Imagine a broad city square, surrounded by majestic colonial buildings and lined with cafes with people eating and drinking at hundreds of tables. The middle of the square is occupied with a beautiful park of towering palms and fountains and fenced with orange trees. Throughout the park and the streets around, thousands of people are walking, sitting, and talking, and at the north end of the plaza ceremonies are going on at the main cathedral, where even more people are gathered and singing projects out to the city ...
Today I took a cable car, of the same sort as they have at the Minnesota State Fair, up over the city to a park on top of San Bernardo hill. The park has nice views of the city, and a series of artificial waterfalls, bridges and islands which are quite good. I walked around the city a bit, too. There a lots of strange flowers here, like bright red brushes and giant white cotton balls. In Jujuy, a city on the way here, there were even more flowers. The other odd thing about that place was that most of the telephone and power lines had something growing on them -- some sort of plant.
Tomorrow I might be meeting up with my friend from Cusco, and then I´ll be on a bus to Paraguay.
Latest Comments (1)
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A great read! (reply)
Sep 15, 2006 21:39 EST by luvs2travel
Hi, Joe!
Thanks so much for the e-mail!
I'm enjoying reading this journal, and feel like I'm experiencing your adventure vicariously. :) A week or so ago, I watched an episode of 'Globetrekker' (in which the host traveled all over Argentina) which reminded me of you.
Sounds like you're meeting lots of fun and interesting people along the way. As you reflect back on ... show all
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