Here's an update from Salta, where we've spent the last four days kicking back and relaxing...

We got here on Monday after a two hour bus ride from Jujuy. Our hostel, called Hostel Salta por Siempre, is really cool and has incredibly friendly staff. That afternoon we sat out in Salta's main square, Plaza 9 de Julio, which had plenty of greenery, a fountain and equestrian statue, and hundreds and hundreds of pigeons! (I managed to get their poop on my jumper and Jo got it on her bag!). Old couples napped on the benches in the sun (warm and sunny despite it being winter), whilst kids fed the numerous birds. The square was lined on all sides by handsome buildings, including the cathedral, and plaza-side cafes. It was one of the cafes, dappled by sunlight, that we decided to take advantage of for an hour or so. Although service was slow, it didn't matter, as we lingered over our coffee and icecream (respectively), people-watching and idly chatting. And that was it for the day!

Tuesday followed in similar fashion. We lay in late, then went church-hopping. We first visited the bright red and yellow Iglesia San Francisco, going inside to see the ornately painted ceiling, various statues and paintings and the main altar. We did pretty much the same thing at the candy pink cathedral, which was bigger and busier. Jo managed to get way-laid by a lady here who wouldn't stop speaking to her in Spanish, despite Jo's befuddled expression and her efforts to escape! We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana, an interesting and provocative exhibit on the Inca's penchant for 'child sacrifices'. We learnt about the esteemed role the children played in their society before being 'given to the mountain', the sacred role the mountains played in Incan religion and culture, and the practical value of making the children travel all the way to Cuzco (in present-day Peru) on foot, from an empire that stretched from Colombia to Argentina. All really interesting. The highlight was coming face-to-face with the perfectly preserved Incan child (one of three found on the mountain near Salta; we saw the seven-year old boy), who had been preserved in the freezing conditions from decay. It was fairly strange, as the boy almost didn't seem real, instead like a figurine...In the afternoon we went back to the same cafe as yesterday, again for coffee and icecream, and I tried to console myself over the fact Nigel Pearson, Leicester City's manager, has left for Hull City! To walk off our self-induced lethargy, afterwards we did a short walk around the city's plazas, past a whitewashed convent, and a park.

Salta has definitely proved to be the perfect setting to recharge, and we have fallen for its charms. Despite not having lots of so-called sights, we've enjoyed the sunny weather, outdoor cafes, plazas and pretty buildings. Yesterday afternoon took us through Parque San Martin to the 'teleferico' (gondola cable car) station. We got the gondola up to the top of Cerro San Bernardo for hazy views over the city and surrounding mountains. The top of the hill had been sculpted into beautiful gardens and a manmade, tiered waterfall. There were a few lookouts in different places. Whilst the artesan shops were nothing to write home about (selling the same things they sell everywhere up here), the cafe was a lot more special. The terrace overlooked the city beneath us, had the odd condor circling above, and was boiling. We shared some thirst-quenching, homemade lemonade and had an icecream each whilst reading our books. So much for it being winter here! That evening we went out to a 'peña', a bar which charged an entry price for you to go inside and listen to 'folklore', folk music, which is actually more popular across the entire country than tango. Salta is renowned for putting on a good show, and La Vieja Estacion, where we went, didn't disappoint. Our 'bar' was more of a restaurant, serving food whilst you watched goings on on-stage. We stuck to peña's traditional fare, empanadas (in llama, beef, chicken and cheese varieties) and red wine. Something got lost in translation, and we ended up with 14 empanadas instead of 8! We couldn't finish them all, so took the last few away with us. We watched a dancing troupe first, with drums, big and puffy skirts (for the girls) and heels for making noise on the floor (for both). Next came a band who obviously played some classics (everyone around us was singing), and three renditions of 'Happy Birthday' for punters.

Today we returned for the final time to our favourite Salta haunt, Plaza 9 de Julio. We went to New Time Cafe, one of the plaza side places, and sat out again in the sun. I had an absolutely huge slab of lemon meringue pie, which was really tasty as well, whilst Jo went for her usual icecream! We basked in the sun, people-watched, and played a few games of backgammon.

This afternoon we're going to catch an overnight bus down to Mendoza, which should arrive 18 hours later at about 10. Hopefully that'll go to plan...we'll let you know!