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Salta, Argentina
After a two day bus journey it´s safe to say we arrived in Salta in questionable moods. Dirty, tired and hungry, we ached for some comfort! Unfortunately, I had taken a gamble by booking an unrated hostel and the risk was not about to pay off! We arrived at crack o´dawn which meant the entire place was asleep. This included the so called 24-hour receptionist who was none too pleased at us ringing the doorbell at such an early hour. He bluntly informed us that the room would not be ready until 1pm but we could sit on the sofa if we liked. So we sat….in the cold, pitch black room for hours until the sun came up and other guests began to stir. At that point breakfast was served; however, he soon turned around and told us that we shouldn't really have been there at that time so we would not get breakfast! Harry´s fists were starting to tingle by this stage so I whisked him off to McDonalds to seek some of that comfort we so badly needed!
Luckily for us, Salta itself was far more pleasant than our hostel! Another beautiful, buzzy Argentinian city with a strong European vibe. It felt good too, to get back to some sunshine since we had thoroughly exhausted our warmer clothes in Patagonia (it´s hard to get them washed when you have to wear them all at once!) The nightlife was amazing, with a whole area called ´Zona Viva´ dedicated to restaurants, bars and clubs. We made the most of nice cocktails and wines since we´d been told that, on entering Bolivia, standards drop considerably!
On our final day we visited the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, an exhibition that Salta is very proud of. It gave us our first lesson in Inca rituals and left us very excited about Bolivia and Peru. The museum displays the findings of mountaintop sanctuaries; remains of sacred ceremonies whereby children of important Inca families were buried alive as human sacrifices. The children, all from different tribes, were firstly married in order to strengthen the bonds between neighbouring clans. Adorned in great riches, they were fed an alcoholic beverage which sent them to sleep and, finally, they were buried in upright positions surrounded by other expensive offerings. The Incas believed such offerings would keep them safe from natural disasters, poor crops and political unrest. The remains of three children have been discovered in Salta, each between 6-15 years old. Due to the high altitude of the mountains, their bodies have been very well preserved and two of the them just look like sleeping children even after all these years (the third body had been struck by lightning and was therefore, not as well preserved). The whole experience was both harrowing and fascinating!
Our departure bus from Salta to Bolivia was not until midnight so, as usual on our moving days, we prepared ourselves for the arduous day hanging around the hostel. Our friendly receptionist soon informed us that if we wanted to stay, we would have to pay! Since we had nowhere else to go with our rucksacks, we were seriously considering handing over the cash, until we encountered a few incidents. On attempting to take a shower, I noticed that the bath was literally half full/ blocked with others´ dirty water, so no shower for me. And the straw that broke the camel´s back was when Harry´s precious bathroom time was rudely interrupted. With no lock on the door (just a handwritten sign with ´Libre´ on one side and ´Ocupado´ on the other), I feared a fisticuffs situation would break out between Harry and the poor boy who claimed he couldn't read. We decided the bus station would be the best place for us after all.
Overall Salta, as a city, was brilliant! The hostel situation wasn´t the best but we laughed about it in the end. We´ve now arrived in Tupiza, Bolivia, from where we start a 4 day tour of the salt flats!
Nicola & Harry
Copa del Sh*thead Scoreboard: NH 110- 125 HF
- comments
Joe Love it! Harry, on the last day you should have just ironed the receptionist out and made for border lively! Great (if somewhat horrifying) knowledge about the Inca rituals. Just goes to show, when I was in Salta with Kev and Chids we basically spent 3 days in Zona Viva. Different angle.....
Raj C lol @ McDonalds - works on that lad everytime :)
Gramps and Linda Great blogs , you both must be super fit to do those journeys , but you'll never forget your lifetime adventure , cherish every second , I cant see you adjusting to normal life on return, I'm really pissed off , and freezing here, don't get complacent you two . Gramps
Uncle Graham As always, terrific stuff. I'm getting to look forward to these postings every week and always get excited when one pops up in my email. Keep enjoying yourselves. And don't bother about your your Grandad's warnings. I've found that the only place where the natives are hostile is Essex!