SALTA and CAFAYATE



Rhaani and Julie think they've found Nirvana

WHERE: SALTA and CAFAYATE

WHERE (less detailed): far north ARGENTINA

WHEN: days 210-213

Calayate, a quaint little town, unlike Salta, which is, well..shit

WEATHER IS: still sunny and hot, not death valley hot, but hot.

TEMPERATURE IS: usual mid-30’s, normal temperature, you know

Salta. You better like this square cos there's f@ck all else to see

PEOPLE ARE: very helpful. Although we wonder if they actually speak Spanish. In our Salta hostel the waitress asks if Paul wants some “te (tea)” Paul says “Si” and the lady comes back with a cup of Coffee (cafe). We then ask for some marmalade “Marmalada” and she says “Si” and brings us some sugar??? We go out shopping for ingredients for a home cooked meal and the shopkeepers couldn’t be more helpful.

the Littlest Hobo SAm style.

FOOD IS: patchy. We have what looks like bread rocks in the same Salta hotel but the best tasting Parillia steak in Cafayate.

okay Salta, I'll admit this is pretty cool too, but that's it

HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHTS: SALTA ... we give Julie the chance to impress as accommodation booker and she books us in to a prison, “I think it’s a school,” says Rhaani. “If it is they take education pretty seriously around her as there’s an armed guard in a watchtower making sure no-one skips double French”...

watchtower we have two runners from Mrs Johnson's third period maths class, shoot to kill

...that night we’re woken up to the sound of smashing glass and fear a prison break is underway... the lovely quaint town of Salta that Lonely Planet promises turns out to be 400m2 of quaintness surrounded by 2miles2 of dump... Rhaani and Julie visit the child sacrifice museum (the locals used to sacrifice “honoured” children in the name of fertility”... Paul visits a children’s bookstore and buys an 8+over book in the hope of improving his Spanish...

Sergio Leonne would be proud

... we once again suffer under the “Everything is closed on a... Sunday” rule as we wander around a deserted Salta with its beautiful square and the cool San Francisco church... CAFAYATE ... we nearly miss our bus to Cafayate after Paul checks the wrong ticket and has us standing at the wrong platform until 2mins before our bus leaves... a scenic bus ride through the Corada to wine country...finally we find a quaint town with a quaint hostel and a quaint garden ... the hostel’s Parilla wasn’t quite so quaint. While the quality of the meat was outstanding it wasn’t nearly as bountiful. Fortunately for Paul the servers start at his end of the table and he gets a few tasty chunks...Rhaani and Julie visit six vineyards and even find time for red wine ice cream (which is dreadful)... the pair manage to get their exercise quota in as they hire bikes to visit the further away vineyards....the pair adopt a stray dog the name “Happy”...

UP NEXT: San Pedro de Atacama, the start of the Salar de Uyuni tour.