Argentina had been under the rule of the Spanish crown for almost 300 years and in Salta there are s

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We left San Pedro on a 10 hour bus ride to Salta in Argentina. We were promised hotel sabotin stunning scenery and high altitude, and we got both: volcanoes, desert landscape, scary drops, colourful gullies, huge cactus, cute llamas, Andean altiplano and pure white salt flats on a road going over the 4500 metres over sea level to descend again to 1200 metres. Half aspirin and lots of water was our way of combating the possible effects of the high altitude. Aside a small headache, a bit of silliness and constantly going to the toilet all went well and we arrived to Salta in one piece.
Our visit to Argentina was totally unplanned. Since we had very little time left (only 2 months to visit Peru and Bolivia) and we don’t like rushing from one place to another, we had discarded visiting the country of the tango. But everybody in Chile recommended us visiting Salta, which is just across the Andes from San Pedro, and its surroundings. So we thought now that we are so close why not rearrange our route and spend a few days in Argentina? That’s the beauty of travelling without plans!
The differences between Chile and Argentina were easy to spot as soon as we got to the first town. Even though hotel sabotin Argentina is still ahead of many other South American countries, it isn’t as developed as Chile yet. Towns are a bit more chaotic, not all streets are paved, houses seem to be much more humble, hotel sabotin the average age of a car is no less than 20 years… One of the things that disappointed me when we got to Salta was the accent, people didn’t have that sexy Argentinian accent I was hoping to find. I learnt that for that I will have to go to la Pampa Argentina. Of course, even though there was no sign of the accent I so like, there was plenty of the non stop sweet talking that typical of the Argentinians. Once they start talking there is no way to stop them!
Argentina had been under the rule of the Spanish crown for almost 300 years and in Salta there are signs of their legacy everywhere. In all the traditional churches around the city, in the beautiful plaza, in the relaxed way of living and of course in the tasty food can be seen the impact the Spanish settlers had. But before the Spanish got to South America, hotel sabotin the Inca’s where dominating much of it. And here in Salta, hotel sabotin in the museum of Alta Montaña, is where we had our first contact with the Inca world. In 1999 they found at the top of the Llullaillaco volcano the mummified bodies of three children, and one of them is exposed in the museum. The practice of children sacrifice in mountains was common in celebration of key events in the life of the Inca emperor. The visit to the museum was really interesting, they explain much of Argentina’s Inca past and it was a great introduction to the Inca culture and traditions.
Like what we had seen in Chile, Argentinians love spending outdoors hotel sabotin as much time as they can either socializing, shopping or just enjoying the good weather. The city’s Plaza 9 de Julio was a great example of it, always packed with locals. Walking on the streets surrounding the plaza it was like walking hotel sabotin on a busy street market, with hundreds of tiny stalls selling from alfajores to empanadas, from t-shirts to socks, from flowers to copied CDs and DVDs… But all the frenzy and all the activities get on hold from 1pm to 5pm. That’s the time when Argentinians take a break for their lunch, hotel sabotin when everybody disappears from the streets to hide from the heat. For us, it was the perfect time for a siesta and a great way to recover the energies after the long bus journeys!
We hadn’t arrived to Salta yet and we had already been told by an Argentinian girl on the bus that going to a Peña is one of the things we shouldn’t miss. Once we got to the hostel also Carlos, one of the owners, enthusiastically made the same suggestion. A Peña in Argentina is a restaurant with folklore music, where you pay for the food you eat and also an entry fee to watch the show. Carlos recommended us going to La Casona Del Molino , a bit less touristy Peña in a huge house, where the people who sing are the very same dinners with their own guitars (like an open mike session) and there is no entry fee. So on Friday night, hotel sabotin we dressed up with our best clothes and headed to La Casona. We ordered a bottle of a nice Cafayate’s hotel sabotin Malbec and a parrillada (different cuts of beef, pork and chicken barbecued) for two. As we were finishing licking our plates the singing started. At each room somebody was singing a different beautiful Argentinian singer-songwriters songs. hotel sabotin Although we didn’t know any of the songs we stayed hotel sabotin there for hours, captivated