Salta
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2008
1
32
68
Trip End
Jun 15, 2009
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Salta,
Northern Argentina,
Argentina
Sunday, February 1, 2009
It was time to leave Bolivia. It was going to be a short and sweet stay, the problem was how to leave Uyuni. We decided to catch an express Jeep to Tupiza, it was cheap and was meant to be quick and more comfortable then a bus. The jeep left at 4:30am so another early start and then a lot of waiting for the jeep to turn up at 5am instead. We had been told there would be 12 people in the jeep, a largish Toyota Land rover, and we knew it would be squishy, but should be ok. Well the jeep came we squeezed in, and then they squeezed in an extra two people! It was ridiculous, we were all basically sitting on each other, and we would be like that for at least two hrs where we would get to Atoche and change to another less crowded jeep.
Well it was a long bumpy two hrs where we had one flat tire for a bit of relief, but when we arrived in Atoche we were informed that we would not be leavening for another 2 or 3 hrs and that it wasn't a jeep we were getting but a bus! Hmmm 2 hrs in the world's most boring town, what fun! In a way we were happy it was a bus, at least the seats would be a bit more comfortable and we would have a bit more room. We were sorely disappointed when we were put onto the world's oldest and most uncomfortable bus. We were all shoved in the back seat where I couldn't fit my legs, let alone Dave, and 'relaxed ' into what would be a 5 hr ride. For good measure and to instil confidence in our driver he reversed into a parked car before we left.
Let's just say the ride was the worst and most uncomfortable bus trip I or any of the others had ever had.
Bus ride to Tupiza
It was a dirt road full of pot holes and the bus driver never tried to miss them so we would be constantly thrown out of our seats. It was pure relief when we arrived in Tupiza and found a nice Hostel to stay in for the night. After that bus ride we decided it was time to leave Bolivia and we booked another bus to the border the next day.It was a slightly better trip to the Argentinean/Bolivian border and we arrived with out problems. Jo and Jozza found a bus on the Bolivian side that would take us all to Salta past the border for $22 American each. Well our lonely plant told us we could get a bus on the other side of the boarder for just $10 so we talked them into crossing ourselves and finding a bus on the other side.
The Crossing was ok, getting out was not a problem and getting into Argentina was fine, but it was a bit nerve racking that an armed guard made us give him our passports to stamp in a building well away from us. It took about an hr to get through and then we got a Taxi to the bus depot. Well the Lonely Lire worked again and it was still $20 to get the bus on this side, and it looked like there was going to be no seats that night! Oops sorry guys! We eventually found 4 seats on the same bus that was leaving that minute jumped on and slept.
After an unexpected change over at 11pm at night and a bag handler refusing to give Dave his bag unless we tipped him (he got quite aggressive and we had not pesos on us!) we arrived in Salta. It was about 1am and we were feeling very happy that we had pre booked accommodation, we went to bed and slept until 11:30 the next morning.
Argentina was so different from Bolivia. There were hardly any Indigenous looking people about, the plaza looked like something from Europe and the cafes all had out door tables served by waiters in aprons. It was also hot and sunny, it was like being on a completely different continent. We spent a nice relaxing day in Salta doing some window shopping and wandering around, it was nice to do a bit of nothing. We had decided to Hire a car the next day and drive ourselves to Cafayate where we could do a bit of self guided sight seeing on the way.
The car was meant to be dropped off at our hostel at 12 am the next day, by 1 we were getting annoyed, by 1:30 the boys went and got it themselves. Guess we were still in South America after all! We knew it would be a small car, but when it turned up we could do nothing but laugh, it was tiny and we had to fit the four of us plus our luggage inside. We did manage but it was a tight fit. It ended up being a really nice drive past vine yards and into a rocky desolate country full of cool rock formations. Every corner you turned in the road lead to a completely different kind of scenery. Cafayate turned out to look like a charming little town and after a bit of trouble we found a place to stay for the night.
