Beautiful Day

Cable car to the top of Cerro San Bernardo
overlooking the city of Salta

Part IV of VI
Next stop along our tour of Northwestern Argentina was the province of Salta (and a bit of the neighboring Jujuy).  Although the pleasant city of Salta, known to locals as "Salta la linda" (Salta the beautiful), has its share of sites and charms, it has found its calling mostly as a jumping-off point for travelers in this recently-discovered tourist area.  And much to see there is!

After close to 20 hours on an overnight Christmas Day bus we were ready for some activity.  Fortunately for the road-weary traveler, Salta has a large hill, complete with walking paths and stairs, to get the blood flowing back through the extremities!  From the Cerro San Bernardo we were able to take in the city and scope out some of the sites from above.  Salta has, among several intriguing cathedrals and a basilica, a beautiful European-esque central plaza replete with restaurants, gelato shops, cafés, and an abundance of places to sit and take it all in.

One side of Salta's Plaza 20 de Febrero

The following day we boarded a large La Posada van for a tour of some natural wonders in the neighboring Jujuy province.  After passing through a mountain pass where, local legand says a "bear with a man's face" called an ucumar lurks around looking for "virgin women to rape and make babies with," and eventually topping out at 4,170 meters above sea level, we arrived at our first destination.

The Salinas Grandes are naturally formed salt flats high in the mountains near the border of Bolivia.  They were formed when mineral-rich mountain run-off mixed with volcanic lava and the water evaporated, leaving a visually uninterupted flat expanse of land rich in minerals, including the blindingly white salt deposits.  While it was impressive to see, it was most fun to play with perspective through photography, something not easy to do believably on uneven terrain.

Salinas Grandes

"It's a beautiful day 
Sky falls, you feel like 

It's a beautiful day

Don't let it get away."

~U2

Somos cinco

Put me down!
Rob and I play with perspective.

Next up was the tiny time-trapped town of Purnamarca and the "hill of seven colors." This dusty little adobe bricked pueblo sits at the base of a whimsical hillside that looks as if a painter had run out of the traditional earthen tones and had to resort to others on their pallet.  This result is actually due to some shift in geologic layers, the minerals they each contain, and oxidation amounts of said layers.  (I very well could have gotten that all completely incorrect, but it sounds believable, right?!?)

The "hill of seven colors" towering over Purnamarca.

Purnamarca doorway

After a nice lunch - llama burger optional - we headed back toward Salta.  Despite the fact that about three quarters of the day was spent in the tour van, the stunning scenery along the way made it pass by quickly.  I had thought I had never seen mountains so spectacular in my life.  Little did I know that that would only be until the next day when we left for the under-spoken wine town of Cafayate at the southernmost end of the Salta province...

In a Word: Argentina

Wine and steak. Leather and tango.  “Evita” and Maradona.  No one can claim Argentina is a hidden place on the world stage, however, this intriguing country tucked under Brazil far into the southern hemisphere seems both worlds away from its fellow Latin American neighbors and yet familiar at the same time.

Reflecting on the past three weeks in Argentina during our last night in Buenos Aires my friends and I charged ourselves with coming up with one word to identify the country we had recently gotten to know. 

I chose “reincarnated.”

Book stall in Buenos Aires

During this trip we visited five different cities in four provinces, each with its own story and flavor, yet completely Argentine.  The people are incredibly kind and full of pride.  The landscape is at once breath-taking and unassuming.  Wherever you go – geographically or historically – this is a country that has reinvented itself numerous times, had to pick itself up on occasion, and each time managed to be reborn better all while holding true to its identity.

As large as it is, and as proportionately little of it as we were able to see in just twenty days, Argentina welcomed us with open arms. I found this country to be a tapestry of warmth, flavor, style, class, and heart. 

Yes, the stereotypes I opened with are alive and well.  I frequently ate some of the best steak I have ever tasted, but also discovered gelato shops on seemingly ever corner and a divine cookie dessert called an “alfajore” which I couldn’t get enough of.  I learned more about wine than I ever thought possible – even visited a wine museum! – and sampled many a malbec and cabernet literally at the source from growers who care for each grape as it was their own child.  I heard plenty of tango music and attended a tango show which told the history of a dance which was created by immigrants to stand apart and now defines a people and their country.  And Eva Perón is still alive in Buenos Aires; it is impossible not to notice the love Argentines still have for the former first lady as her image and legacy adorn countless buildings and pieces of propaganda.

Spanish tortilla, goat empanadas, & locally grown red wine in Cafayate.

I feel very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to experience a small part of Argentina and look forward to revisiting it again and continue my love affair.  But for now, the memories of trekking in Iguazú, wine-tasting in Mendoza, taking countless jump-shots in the salt-flats outside of Salta, biking in Cafayate, and wandering without purpose in Buenos Aires will have to suffice.

More to come…