My Favourite Place So Far

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Salta is my favourite place in Argentina so far. The city itself is full of beautiful colonial architecture but the Salteños ( people from Salta) are a rich mix of European and Incan descent. People are incredibly friendly here, Salta is famous for it´s role in the independence of Argentina and the countryside is unlike any other in the country. Salta is also famous for having really good food. It´s true !

Salta is home to the Museo Arquialogico della Montaña Alta. This is a fascinating museum about the discovery of three sacrificed Incan children who were hidden inside a religious site at the top of a mountain. Before visiting this museum, I had no idea about the Incan culture or their language. I was given a guided tour 0f the place and every aspect of the discovery was explained, together with its significance in Incan society. The children who were sacrificed were done so to placate Pachamamma, the Earth. They came from the extremities of the Incan Empire and were the children of Incan Nobles. I could go on for hours about how interesting the Incas are but I won´t bore you with the details. Suffice to say that seeing three dead children did fascinate me but it also made me quite upset because the children have been excellently preserved by natural processes. You can´t get away from the fact that these children were real people at some point.

You can´t get away from the fact that these children were real people at some point.

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The Cathedral is pink and white and reminds me of a birthday cake. It houses the ashes of General Guemes and other generals who fought for Argentinian independence. The church of San Francisco is also extremely ornate, it´s almost gaudy but very impressive. Everything here is decorative and extravagant. What I have really enjoyed doing here is just walking around and taking in the atmosphere which at times is very European and at times very Andean.

Salta is also important because it is a wine producing region, with Cafayate at the heart of it. The climate here is perfect for growing grapes as unlike Salta, Cafayate is warm and dry all year round. I went on a wine tasting tour which I have to say, slightly disappointed me. The Bodega was called Domingo Hermanos and it only lasted about 10 minutes. It went something like this : ´hello, these are the grapes we use (pointing to the vineyards), these are the machines we use to squeeze the grapes, and these are the bottles we put the wine in. In that room, you can buy our wine ( which was horrible by the way). Mendoza is definitely the place to taste wine, not that I am an expert or anything ! The road going down to Cafayate from Salta is spectacular though. The road passes through a mountain range which is made up of different colours and rock formations. One is the shape of a frog, for example. You can see condors flying around too. There is also a natural amphitheater which is used by local musicians. The area is full of hippies because there are a lot of abandoned villages which they have taken over. They regularly go to the ampitheatre to play music for the tourists and it was amazing!

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Salta also has a hill in the middle of the city. You can take a cable car to the top of the hill and check out the views of the city and the valley. There is also an open air gym ( I don´t know how you can work out in this heat !) an ecological park, an artificial waterfall and numerous religious statues. It is definitely worth a visit.

Yesterday, I went horse riding with a crazy Argentinian man and his friend who was less crazy but only marginally. He has a farm on a hill called La Quesiera. The house used to be a monastery and it is now my dream house. It has a court yard in the middle of the building , which is fairly typical here. The house has its own chapel, about 11 bedrooms and a huge farm house kitchen. I fell in love with the place ! The grounds contain 3 hills, numerous streams and rivers, horses , ducks and other animals. It is perfect for really hot days because the house is shaded by trees. Because it was a Sunday, we had an asado with the whole family, which is sacred here. They were so welcoming and they made me feel like I was part of the family. After that we sat around drinking mate and talking - that´s what great about Argentina. Everyone is so curious about you and so happy to talk to you. I am now however, a walking mosquito bite.

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The guys from he farm took me to the house of General Guemes who led an army of Gauchos against the Spanish. I didn´t realise that this is why the Gaucho is so celebrated here. The Gaucho is basically a cowboy who wanders around making a living out of leather crafting. The Gauchos were the reason Argentina won against the Spanish in a battle in the hills of Salta. It´s definitely worth a visit just to see such a historic place in Argentina that none of the guide books mention.

Finally, the food here is good and there is a lot more variety than the usual pasta, pizza, steak mix. And the ice cream..... heaven !