Picture links:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotanc/SaltaAndAround
Arriving to Salta around mid-day I spent the first day and a half wondering around the city which is very nice. This included climbing a nearby hill to see the views, visiting several cathedrals, going to the local market, eating local dishes, going to a couple of museum where it is possible to see what they claim to be some of the best preserved Inca mummies found (it is amazing how they were preserved at an altitude of almost 7000 m!), ..
South of Salta:
After that day and a half I rented a car for 2 days with 4 other people (2 Israelis, and british guy and an american girl):
We drove south to a town called Cafayate. The way itself is spectacular, the colors of the mountains are great, there are very nice rock formations, very large cactuses to see, and generally amazing views..
On the way we also had the chance to meet some old friends:
And to drink some good Israeli black (i.e. turkish) coffee (which I had not drank for over 2 months - as far as I remember it is since the black coffee that Oren brought from Israel ran out back in Patagonia):
Arriving in the afternoon to Cafayate we went for a short hike and at night went to a local pub where they played (and sang) local folklore music. Although I would not count this in my favourite music list, the atmosphere was definitely worth it!
The second day we drove back through the town of Cachi, this is a different way, also offering great views of the area..
Arriving to Salta in the evening, the next day I used for resting and organizing (such as laundary etc.)
North of Salta (and getting robbed):
After the day of rest I rented a car for 3 days with 2 German girls and we drove up north.
The drive initially follows the route of the ¨train to the clouds¨- a famous train line that goes above 4200 m altitude. Afterwards driving partly through the famous Argentenian Route 40 (made famous by Che Guevara who travelled on this road, that goes from South to North Argentina, using his motorbike) - we drove parts of this road also during the Caraterra Austral, back in Patagonia.
this drive also offers great views, together with a difficult (mostly unpaved) drive (not sleeping much the night before did not help the driving, and was probably not the smartest thing to do...)
At some point we reached a nice salt flat (similar, but much smaller than the famous Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia):
Afterwards we reached the small town of Purmarca, mainly known for the mountain of seven colors. We stayed there for the night, and the next morning climbed a bit to have a great view of the colorfull mountain:
From there we continued up north:
Eventually arriving to the village of Tilcara in the afternoon. We went searching for a hostel leaving the car in daylight, next to one of the main roads (if you can call that a main road - but there were quit a bit of people there) of the village.
Returning to the car (after less than an hour) we saw that the lock in the passengers seat was tampered with, the locks of 2 doors were open, and our stuff from the trunk was gone.
So we spent a couple of hours in the police station.. Not the best way to spend an evening..
Luckily we had with us only small bags for those 3 days, while our big bags were left in Salta.
All I lost was clothes, swimming suit, my jacket, sneakers, some showering stuff etc. (this is since all my ID cards, and passport were in my small bag which was with me)
Both of the German girls lost their small bags, one of them lost her passport..
The next day, instead of seeing ruins, driving more up north and enjoying our time, we returned early back to Salta to allow Lisa (who lost her passport) to return to Buenos Aires as soon as possible.
I had a bus ticket for the next day, but postponed it by 2 days to allow myself to buy some of the stuff that was stolen..
So the next days I spent relaxing and mainly shopping (due to my love for shopping I have to admit those were not the greatest days)..
From Salta (on June 18) I continued to San Pedro De Atacama, Chile..
