March 10-12, 2008 - Salta, Argentina

March 10, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================

I woke up at 5 AM but had to let the shower run for 15-minutes before the hot water started flowing. The breakfast (@6:30) was quite basic - 2 croissants, Orange Juice, Coffee or Tea. While waiting for the tour bus to show up, I continued reading James Hadley Chase. Quite fast-paced as always.

My tour bus arrived on time at 7:15 AM. I was the first pickup. The Vehicle was a crossover Renault that seated 3 passengers in the back and one up front. I took the seat next to the driver as it would give me some additional leg room. We picked up 3 more people - a guy and 2 girls - all argentines from Buenos Aires before heading south to Cafayate. The driver provided commentary in Spanish. It had started raining heavily by now. Within 10 minutes, the windshield wiper on the driver's side stopped working. The driver pull the vehicle to the shelter of a gas station, pulled out an all-purpose tool (like a Swiss army or a Leatherman) from his hip pocket and fixes the wiper in 10 minutes. Very impressed with his handiwork.

We continued south to Cafayate - 190 Kilometres (120 miles) south of Salta. We stopped shortly after the wiper blade fix to fill up gas. It was still pitch dark. It was well past 8:30 before we saw any light. The dark clouds continued to follow us. I was told that it rains just 10-days a year in Cafayate. I did not want today to be among the 10!

Our first stop was a place called ALEMANIA - named after an Indian chief and NOT Germany. In the years past Trains from Salta used to come here regularly until part of the tracks were washed away during rains 2 decades ago. The tracks were not rebuilt, the train services stopped and ALEMANIA has turned into the Ghost town it is today.

After ALEMANIA we continued south until we stopped at Garganta del Diablo (Devil's throat). Yes, those of you who have been reading and memorizing the details would know that one of the waterfalls at IGUASU was called "Garganta del Diablo". The Garganta del Diablo here is not a waterfall but a magnificent rock formation formed by years of Wind and Rain shearing a mountain leaving a diagonally sliced rock formation with a large opening on top - hence the name. I was very very impressed by this. While the rest of the folks in my group clambered over the smooth exterior and reached the lip of the diablo to take some pictures, my shoes would not let me get any grip on the smooth rock surfaces. I passed my camera to one of the folks who had climbed and he took some pictures for me.

By the time we finished viewing Garganta del Diablo and got back to the vehicle, it had started raining. The driver skipped a visit to the nearby Amphitheatre (yet another rock formation) with the assurance that we would visit it in the way back. The guy (Esteban) and one of the girls (Silvia) spoke passable English (way better than my bad Espanol) so we chatted from time to time and they interpreted the driver's commentary for me from time to time as well.

The rain eased up for a bit but by the time we reached a place called Tres Cruces (Three crosses) it had started pouring again. I got back into the Vehicle without taking a picture. I will request a stop on the way back - assuming the sun is shining at that time.

We reached Cafayate around 12:15 PM or so. Our first stop was at a bodega called VASIJA SECRETA. We tasted 3 wines here - a White (from Torrontes Grape that is native to Salta), a rose wine and a Red (Cabernet Sauvignon). None were impressive.

We headed to the town of Cafayate for Lunch. I ordered a HUMITA for lunch and had a wine ice-cream. I will definitely need to have a decent dinner. After lunch we walked around the town Square and I got to know my travelling companions a bit better. Esteban is an accountant by Profession and works for Deloitte. Silvia is an Technology consultant and works for ACCOR (a food company that makes cookies, candies and ice cream among others). Griselda works as a tester for the Mobile Phone company - Personal. The church in the town centre was supposed to have 5 naves - very unique as most churches have only 3. Despite visiting the church, I failed to notice this :)

I was treated to a coffee by the driver / guide. After coffee, out next stop was Bodega DOMINGOS HERMANOS. The wines here were decent - including the Torrontes. We watched the beginning of the wine making process - Grapes being unloaded from trucks and being de-stemmed. I did not purchase any wines.

Our next visit was to Bodega NANNI. It was apparently the driver's favourite bodega - after all he wears a baseball cap given by these folks! As regards the tasting here, the less said the better. One piece of advice though - avoid even under pain of death! I wish the tour companies took us to classier wineries - even if we have to pay for tasting - rather than take us to down and out vinegar manufacturers!

We started back to Salta after bodega NANNI. The clouds had cleared up and the sun was out. We stopped at Tres Cruces on the way back and I got some decent pictures. We also stopped at the Amphitheatre. It is yet another extraordinary rock formation. The amphitheatre was supposed to be acoustically 80% as good as the famed Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. Musicians and Philharmonics have performed here. The four of us took a group photo here. Rock formations like these remind of the trip I took across the great plains (Dakotas and Wyoming) back in August 2007.

I dozed a bit on the way back to Salta. The Argentines were shocked at my dinner plans for 8 PM! They invited me for dinner at a restaurant at 10:30 PM! We changed e-mails to exchange pictures. I headed back to the hotel for a bit of rest before dinner.

I met the Argentine trio for dinner. I had a ravioli and a decent wine. I got back to the hotel at 1 AM! I head out for a tour tomorrow at 7:15 AM again!

March 11, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================

Despite the fact that I could not open my eyes, I forced myself to get up at 6 AM. I was ready by 6:45 and finished breakfast. I chatted with the night manager while I waited for my tour bus to show up. He said that he had not see such a long last name in his 35-years of working! Oh well, there is always a first time for everything :) I continued reading James Hadley Chase while I waited for the tour bus to show up.

The tour bus and driver showed up around 7:15 AM. Despite being very European looking and speaking with a light accent the driver was from Salta! My tour Vehicle today was a Chevy truck with an extended cabin. We were to pick up 2 more people before heading out. I took the seat next to the driver. We pick up a Swiss couple (Michel and Lisa both in their 50s) shortly thereafter and headed out of Salta. As we all spoke and understood English, the driver would provide his commentary in English.

It was pitch dark (as usual). What surprised me was that I saw young children dressed in Uniforms making their way to school. One would think that the schools would adjust their timings so that the children can come to the school during daylight hours. There are no school buses in these parts. Either parents drop their kids in school (Cars, public buses etc.) or if the school is close by, the kids walk to it. In some of the remote areas where the schools are far away from the children, the children stay in hostels Monday through Friday before coming home for the weekend. Public school are all free including the hostel stays and meals in those hostels.

Our first stop along the "Tren a las Nubes" route was a bridge across the RIO TORO. It was still a bit dark and there was a thick mist as well. I got out of the Vehicle and took a picture before my camera battery died out. Thank god I carry multiple spares - fully charged. I dozed as much as I could during the ride.

Our next stop was the small village of Santa Rosa de Tastil located 3000 metres above sea level. It was a bit cold here. With the late dinner last night and the early wakeup this morning, I had forgotten to bring my sweater. There were some vendors selling hand-woven ALPACA sweaters. After a bit of bargaining, I purchased an Alpaca Sweater for 40 pesos from a vendor. I promptly put in on and it helped a bit in fighting the chill. As I was walking around the village taking pictures, I ran into Silvia and Griselda from yesterday's trip. They were also doing the Tren a las Nubes - with a different tour company. We chatted for a bit and agreed to meet up for dinner at 10 PM in Salta. [Our tours are expected to end around 9 PM]

From the village the driver (Marcelo) took a path and climbed a hill above the village putting us at an Altitude of 3200 metres. We were here to observe the pre-Inca settlement. This was a well-preserved settlement and a large one at that. At its peak it had around 1000 people living here. Michel, Lisa and I walked around the settlement for about 20 minutes or so before we got back into the van. We observed a lot of large cactus plants in this area. According to Marcelo many of these Cactuses are 200-300 years old.

The lack of sleep was catching up with me. I dozed as much as possible. The driver chewed Cocoa to keep himself awake and alert. He said that every driver on this route chews the stuff. We were climbing even higher as we made our way to the town of San Antonia de las Cobres. We stopped at the high point of ABRA BLANCA (4080 Metres above sea level) to take some pictures. We saw our first snow capped mountain near ABRA BLANCA. While I did not see Colourful rock formations (like Cafayate), the mountain scenery was spectacular. I tried not to doze off and miss the scenery. Being a small group we could request the driver to stop whenever we wanted to take pictures.

We reached San Antonia de las Cobres around 11:30 AM. As the next stop would be almost 4 hours away, we decided to lunch here. I had white rice with Vegetables which tasted good. Michel and I shared a carafe of red wine. Michel owns a travel agency in Switzerland. We talked mostly about watches. He owns a BLANCPAIN! (of course, he was wearing a cheap 'travel' watch - like I was!) Michel and Lisa promised to show me around if I ever visited Switzerland.

After lunch we walked around San Antonio de las Cobres for about 30 minutes. Most of the people here have strong Indigenous features and resemble the Indians from Bolivia. However, they spoke no indigenous dialect. They conversed only in Spanish.

Marcelo told us that we would not be able to visit the last bridge on the train route as it was in a different direction than where we were supposed to be heading. I was a bit disappointed as this bridge is supposedly what one sees in any Photograph of the "Tren a las Nubes".

We headed to SALINAS GRANDES - a vast expanse of Salt flats about 100 Kilometres (60 Miles) away. I dozed most of the way. We drove on the famous RUTA 40 for this stretch of the trip. We saw quite a few VICUNAS on our way to the Salinas Grandes.

On reaching Salinas grandes, we walked around to take pictures. The complete whiteness of these flats was quite blinding and I was forced to wear my sunglasses. We also saw a house built entirely of SALT from these flats! We saw a lot of trucks carrying Salt from these flats to PARAGUAY which was a 3-day drive away!

From SALINAS GRANDES we started climbing mountains to reach PURMAMARCA where we would be dropping off Michel and Lisa. The weather was perfect. To use an analogy - like the opening scene of "THE SIMPSONS" - blue sky, clouds! The drive was spectacular. We crossed ALTO MORADO (4170 metres above Sea level) - the highest point during our journey today. After ALTO MORADO, we started seeing colourful rock formations (from the mineral deposits contained) in addition to the lovely mountain scenery.

Roads are excellent here. The early engineers have done a marvellous job of surveying and putting up these roads. Way too many hair-pin bends on our way up and down. We reached the valley of HUMAHUACA and started seeing quite a bit of greenery.

We reached PURMAMARCA and I parted ways with Michel and Lisa but not before we exchanged e-mails. They would be visiting Mendoza around the same time as me and we agreed to stay in touch and perhaps meet up there. PURMAMARCA is a small quaint village. There are quite a few Bed & Breakfast places in this tiny village and more were being constructed. It's claim to fame is a unique rock formation that has 7 colours.

Marcelo and I had a coffee and chatted a bit before heading out of Purmamarca. Just out of town Marcelo parked the vehicle on the side of the road so I could take some pictures of the 7-coloured rock formation. I did. We drove past San Salvador de Jujuy - Capital of the Province of Jujuy (pronounced Hoo-Hoo-ey). The cloud cover was quite thick and we passed through densely vegetated areas. It was quite an interesting contrast to the desert like landscape we had passed earlier in the day. We did not stop anywhere else on the way and headed straight to SALTA. Marcelo works as a free lancer. Any company that wants his services contacts him. The company takes a big chunk of the fees the tourists pay them and Marcelo gets a small percentage of the tourist fees. Although he had graduated with a University degree in Geology, he has been working as a tourist guide and driver for the past 4 years and seems to be enjoying it.

We reached SALTA a little after 7 PM. I think Marcelo made up the trip as we went along, otherwise we were not supposed to be back in SALTA before 9 PM. I thanked him and we bid adieu. I took a shower at the hotel and headed to an Internet cafe to copy my memory cards. I finished around 10 PM and met Silvia and Griselda at the appointed place. We headed to a restaurant called "El Solar del Convento" - a very nice restaurant that was not expensive.

We ordered a bottle of wine from the famous premium winery at COLOME (about 3 1/2 hours south west of Salta). It was 50 pesos. Needless to say we were not having COLOME's flagship wine :) I had a fettuccini for dinner. The twin 26 year old gals and the 43-year old man had an extended conversation (oh and dinner too). Having a captive audience I provided advice to them on all and sundry - whether I was qualified to provide them or not - in Spanish! I topped my dinner my having a Chocolate Ice Cream for dessert.

We finished our dinner and conversations close to 1 AM. I did not mind as tomorrow is a free day for me in SALTA. The girls were heading out at 6:30 AM for a 9-hour hike! I wished them well and we agreed to meet at 10 PM tomorrow to have dinner and take in a local cultural show. I may do some city sightseeing tomorrow.

March 12, 2008 - Salta, Argentina
==========================

I slept in and woke up around 9:30 AM. By the time I was ready, I had missed breakfast. I headed out at 10:30 AM into a light rain. I decided to visit Cerro San Bernardo later in the day - when the weather cleared up. My first stop was the Aerolineas Argentinas office to confirm my flight to Mendoza (tomorrow). I also obtained the number for the Airport Shuttle service - as I seemed to have misplaced the number I had. I visited Iglesia San Francisco and Case Uriburu. Uriburu was a former president of Argentina.

I visited the tourism office to obtain a list of vegetarian restaurants before heading to BIOS DIET restaurant. Today's lunch special was Soya Burger with Spinach cream sauce. This place is 100% vegetarian and also caters to diet-restricted folks (Diabetic, non-spicy etc.). The breads served here do not have salt in them! (although the Soya Burger did have salt). They do not stock any spices at all - period! I used the salt and pepper shakers liberally on my soya burger and spinach cream sauce. The highlights - in addition to the good healthy food - was the tall young waitress!

Post lunch I visited the 9 de Julio plaza. I took a few pictures here. It was part 1:30 PM. I headed back to the hotel and wrote my diary and some postcards while resting for a bit. I headed out again at 4 PM. It does get quite hot in the afternoon here and resting in a shady (preferably air-conditioned place) is the best way to spend it!

The Cable car station to Cerro San Bernardo was located right across from my hotel. I purchased a roundtrip ticket for 12 pesos (US$4). One does get good views of the city of Salta from the top of the hill. There is a small man-made waterfall on the top. I spent close to 40-minutes here (including the rides up and down on the cable cars).

I took a taxi from the Cable Car station to the train station. The "Tres a las Nubes" - when functioning - departs from this station. I met the guard on the train - who also doubles as a curator of the museum located in the station. A highly enthusiastic person who was quite thrilled to know I was from India. He insisted I fill out the visitor book. Once I completed signing the visitor guide book, he gave me a few souvenir tickets from the "Tren a las Nubes". He told me that the train will be operational starting July 2008. He gave me permission to wander around and take pictures.

I went to the yard and took pictures of their upgraded train. Looks quite touristy. The ride from Salta to Socompa (on the Chilean Border) and back normally takes about 14 hours. The train operates only during the Argentine Winter season. I would have to come back here later for the train ride. It is quite nice to meet folks like these who are quite enthusiastic and love their jobs and are willing to share information and spend time with tourists.

After the train ride, I walked to the town centre. I walked on Peatonal (Pedestrian Walkway) Florida for a bit. Packed with people. I came across and walked into Museo Hernandez and saw the Guemes Painting and some good works by Armina Serra. The Guemes Painting is a large very impressive piece of work. I visited the Artisan workshop but was not impressed with anything on display there. I visited an internet cafe to backup my memory cards and check e-mail. The bad aspect of internet cafe here is that Smoking is permitted and is quite disgusting.

I headed to a cafe for a late snack after which I visited the post office to mail some post cards. Since most establishments close between 1 and 4, they stay open late - until 8 PM or so.

I got back to the hotel and left my camera bag behind as it had started raining again. I was scheduled to meet the Argentine girls (Silvia & Griselda) for dinner and possibly a local cultural show. I waited for 20 minutes and gave up. I headed back to the hotel, packed up, wrote my diary and went to bed.

I head to Argentine Wine Country (Mendoza) tomorrow.