A view of Salta from the top of San Bernardo Hill.
Salta
Still going downhill and no longer in the desert. Salta is in the Lerma Valley at 1,152 metres. A city of 600,000, it's nice and flat and great for walking around, and surrounded by hills.
I spent four nights here, though I hadn't planned to. My phone's internet access proved to be a livesaver on this trip, but it let me down in Humahuaca. The service was so slow that sites kept timing out. I couldn't book a place to stay closer than Salta. It was all to the good, though--some of the towns I had planned to visit were pretty dreary, and Salta turned out to be a very likeable town.
I spent four nights here, though I hadn't planned to. My phone's internet access proved to be a livesaver on this trip, but it let me down in Humahuaca. The service was so slow that sites kept timing out. I couldn't book a place to stay closer than Salta. It was all to the good, though--some of the towns I had planned to visit were pretty dreary, and Salta turned out to be a very likeable town.
Plaza 9 de Julio on Sunday morning. This is the historic centre of the city with the cathedral on the far side and the Cabildo (the old seat of government) on the near. Names can be confusing in South America. A street, 12 de Octubre, runs through a park where the Monumento 20 de Febrero stands. 20 de Febrero also is a street, which is parallel to 25 de Mayo. I stayed on Bartolomó Mitre (not to be confused with just plain Mitre), in one of at least four Plaza Hotels. Below is the cathedral.
This block is across from the plaza and I'd guess the buildings are from the late 19th century.
In here is the Museum of High Altitude Archeology. Mummies figure largely into it, including those of three children who were discovered in recent years. Only one of the children is displayed at a time, though many people objected to their inclusion. The more I learned about Incas, the less I liked them. The museum was a bit depressing.
Running through is block is an arcade, a kind of mall of small shops that comes out on the other side of the block. These are also very common in Montevideo.
Here is the the Cabildo de la Ciudad, and inside is the Museo Histórico del Norte. (This part of Argentina is known as the northwest.) The museum contains a number of rooms and courtyards. Some of it was lost on me, not being a Catholic. Unlike many museums, it wasn't all paintings of generals and politicians. Some of it was devoted to regular people, including a room with exhibits about immigration.
Winemaking (and drinking) are big in Argentina. In the museum was this historic piece of grape crushing equipment.
In one of the courtyards were a number of historic vehicles, including this hearse.
In one of the courtyards were a number of historic vehicles, including this hearse.
This little jewel is the Museo Pajcha Arte Etnico--museum of ethnic art. It's a private museum,
the result of the owner's lifetime of collecting Central and South American art.
the result of the owner's lifetime of collecting Central and South American art.
Sunday morning is pretty quiet in Salta. It wasn't exactly bustling on the other days. I went to the post office Tuesday to mail some postcards, but it was closed for siesta.
In the picture on the right you can see San Bernardo Hill in the distance. When I got disoriented, I could just look for the hill and get my bearings. |
Argentine tamales! A little meat in a ball of cornmeal, wrapped in a corn shuck and boiled. Not at all spicy.
The last touristy thing I did in Salta was to take the cable car to the top of San Bernardo Hill.
There's a very nice park at the top, a craft market, restaurant and playground.
The reason is stayed so long in Salta was that the one firm date of this trip was coming up:
On November 1, I was flying from Salta to Buenos Aires to meet Graeme.
There's a very nice park at the top, a craft market, restaurant and playground.
The reason is stayed so long in Salta was that the one firm date of this trip was coming up:
On November 1, I was flying from Salta to Buenos Aires to meet Graeme.