Salta and Day Trippin'

Sunday, November 12, 2023
Salta, Salta Province, Argentina
Well, we got an email from Aerolineas Argentinas that our 7:55 am flight to Salta had been changed to 9:20.  Only problem was that the email only came at 6:45 and we didn’t see it until we had checked in, after a very slow and nerve-wracking bus ride to the airport—we were worried that we would miss check-in cutoff.  We had planned on taking a taxi to the airport but somehow none of the drivers, who are always around pestering us about a ride, were out at 6 am.  Strange that!  Anyway we got to have a coffee and a bite to eat at the airport, while we watched the rain pound down outside.  Looks like we got out of Iguazu just in time!
We arrived in Salta, a provincial capital with colonial architecture in the mountainous northwest of Argentina, to sunny skies and warm temperatures—but not as warm as it would be.  An easy, and very cheap, taxi ride brought us to our lovely apartment on Juramento, not far from Plaza 9 de Julio, the heart of the city.  While nice enough inside—it is really just a fairly large L-shaped studio—the private patio of the apartment, and the view from it, are really special.  It wasn’t quite ready for us yet but Emanuel let us drop our bags and we headed out to the Plaza to change some money on the street and grab a bite to eat.
I had only briefly mentioned the currency situation in Argentina before.  There are basically 3 different exchange rates:  the Official rate, which is the rate you get if you go to a bank; the Blue rate, or unofficial rate, which you get when you deal with a guy on the street and is 2 ½ to 3 times the Official rate; and the MEP rate, which is fairly new and is what you get when you use a foreign credit card and is about 80-85% of the Blue rate.  It is often just easier to use credit cards and not have to carry around huge wads of bills, since the largest common bill is 1000 pesos (about $1.10 US at the Blue rate).  Confused yet?  Lots of people are.  And yes, the dealing with a guy on the street seems sketchy but it is just normal here.  (Some actually have little offices, which makes some people feel better)
We did some wandering for the rest of the day and got some laundry done and had some good “Milanese” for dinner at a place called the Charleston Grill, just a couple of blocks down the street (across from the laundry).  Friday was a day for more wandering around town, checking out the sights.  We did take the cable car up to the top of San Bernardo Hill, which is the view from our patio, although it wasn’t the best day for it, as it was hazy.  And we did book a couple of day-trips.  (We had already booked one, the “Train to the Clouds” months ago).

 
Our first day trip, on Saturday, was to be to Humahuaca, to the north of Salta, but they contacted us late Friday to say that they had switched our dates and we were now going to Cafayate, to the south, on Saturday instead of Wednesday.  Just in time for the high temperature of 41C in Cafayate.  But we had to be at the Plaza at the same time, 6:30, as they are both very long trips.
Well, I woke up Saturday morning with the runs, some sort of food poisoning, though Carol and I ate exactly the same foods the day before.  Anyway, it went downhill from there.  I was actually holding up OK until we were just approaching the wine tasting stop near Cafayate.  I was feeling faint, sweating, couldn’t see or hear clearly and really thought I was going to pass out.  It didn’t help that the temperature was climbing towards the high of 41C and the air conditioning on the bus didn’t work.  I made it off the bus and to the baño, then I just lay down in the dirt by the vineyard, in the shade, for a while and finally started to feel alive.  But it was scary.  Needless to say, I didn’t do any wine tasting, but Carol did and she wasn’t too impressed.  Anyway, the tour to Cafayate was more about the journey than the destination.  The mountains and the rock formations of the Calchaqui Valley are spectacular and we made a few stops to see some of the more unique formations and views, including Devil’s Throat  (Garganta del Diablo), the Amphitheatre (Anfiteatro Natural), and Three Crosses (Tres Cruces).
By the time we made it to Cafayate, I was feeling much better.  We had a small bit to eat and I even had a beer (but first a soda water).  And that went OK so I was able to have a real treat—wine ice cream!  We each got 2 flavours in our cones, Torrontes and Malbec, and they were both excellent.  There really didn’t seem to be a lot to see in the town of Cafayete, a nice little square but even the views of the mountains were mostly obstructed.  As I said, the trip was more about the journey than the destination.
 The trip back was direct, just one bathroom break and, though I was feeling pretty good, I was really glad to get off that bus when we got back to Salta at 7pm—it did reach 41C and the air conditioning never did work.  Fortunately we were sitting in the front row, right behind the wide-open driver’s window.  Stopped in for a little pizza on our way home and that was our day.
Sunday was a recovery day.  It was another really hot day (only 38C this time) and I just couldn’t face going out in it, as I still wasn’t 100%.  You know it’s hot when I choose to sit inside in air conditioning instead of being outside.  And we had had a pretty hectic schedule the past week, so it was good to just put our feet up for a while.
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