An Oasis in the Dust

Our hotel in Salta was located only a block off the main square, so for breakfast we decided to walk there and see what was happening.  Thre were a bunch of cafes with tables set up on the street but almost no one eating at them.  So we found a nice looking place and sat down to enjoy watching the city wake up while we ate our breakfast.

The main building in the square is of course the Cathedral which is built in the South American style with twin towers on either side of the impressive front fascade.  The opposite side of the square is the town hall which looks like it belongs in the old west, since it is an adobe building that has been whitewashed.  You can tell that there is almost nothing straight on the entire building, even the tower leans to one side.  Overall it is not that impressive of a building but does give you a feel of what the town must have been like during its glory days.  The rest of the square is ringed with newer buildings many from the early 20th century that were built for the wealth merchants of the area.  But the most intresting building is the modern glass building next to the Cathedral that reflects the cathedral in its mirrored windows.  It looks very out of place on this square.

We wanted to go the the Altiplano History Muesum which houses a mummy of a child found at the top of one of the nearby mountains, however when we got to the muesum it was closed so we headed towards San Martin Park, where there is a gondula that takes you to the top of a mountain overlooking the town and valley around it.  On our way there we walked past the very impressive San Fransico Solano church.  It is painted a deep red and trimmed with a bright yellow.  Since most the buildings in the area are a shade of brown this one seems to just stand out from all those around it.  It also might have somthing to do with the single bell tower that is one of the tallest buildings in town jutting up into the sky.  Unfortunately the interior was very plain, not living up to the impression given off by the bright colors and decoration on the exterior.

When we reached the park we took the gondola to the top of the mountain to enjoy the views and the park that is up there.  The views were nice, though they were mostly over the city and only a little over the valley beyond.  The park however was disappointing as the fountain that was the centerpiece forming an artificial waterfall was not working and did not have any water in it.  We did not let that upset us as we sat at the resturant and enjoyed a snack while soaking up the sun and scenary.

That afternoon went back to the muesum thinking maybe they were just closed for siesta time, but again it was closed so we would just have to try again in the morning.  Michelle went back to the room, while I stayed out to go inside the cathedral and explore a couple of the other streets we had not walked down.  The interior of the cathedral is decorated with a number of bright colors covering the walls.  The whole interior is covered with various reliefs and paintings.  It is a long way away from the Spanish Gothic cathedrals we had seen where the stone and carvings were the center.  Here everything was plastered and painted and seem so colorful in comparision to the plain grey of stone.

The next morning we again went to the square to have breakfast, although this time the muesum was open so we were able to go see the story of the natives from the Altiplano.  We were given a sheet with the english translation of the signs in the muesum and went off to learn about the history of the area.  The highlight of the muesum however definately was the frozen mummy that was on display.  Apparently three mummies of children were found at the top of one of the important mountains.  They had apparently been drugged and left to freeze to death and get burried by the elements.  I have never seen a mummy as well preserved as the one on display was nearly perfect.  The skin had color and it looked more like a wax figure than an actual person.  After a minute of realizing what you were looking at it made you want to turn away.

After the muesum we got our car and headed out to drive to San Antonio de los Cobres.  The train that runs this route is named the train to the clouds because of the bueatiful scenary that you see as you climb the side of the mountain.  However the train only runs once a week, and we had a car so the road along the train tracks seemed more appealing.

You basically follow a river valley up a valley.  While we were there the river was a wandering group of small streams on a big bed of gravel, but from all the bridges and lack of vegitation in this area you can tell there are times when the river fills the entire area.  The drive continued to wind up into the Andes and the scenary continued to get better and better.  Though we climbed up to over 4,000 meters we never saw snow and the temperature remained very warm.  The last stretch was a extremely windy as the end of the valley was reached and we now had to climb to the top of the pass to get into town.  After a long drive, arriving in San Antonio was a little disappointing as the entire town was brown.  All the buildings the ground around it, everything was just the same monotonous brown color.  I would have hated to have been there if there was a strong wind as the dust blowing around would have maed it blinding.

After checking into the only hotel in town I drove out to see the most expensive train bridge on the track.  It is a bridge that spans a canyon nearly 4,200 meters above sea level, on the tracks that lead to the Chilean border but do not go any farther than that as Chile descided that it was too expensive of an area to lay train tracks.  The bridge was nothing special except for the location.  On the way back from seeing it I saw the sun set over the mountains, always a great sight.  However what I was most impressed the colors in the sky almost being lifted off the mountains by the darkness as the sun faded away.  It was weird one minute the sky above the mountains was orange and red, the next there was a thin dark line highlighting the mountains.  With in five minutes the gap had widened and the colors were litteraly being pushed into space as night came.

The next morning we headed out on the gravel road towards the Salinas Grandes.  We wound through more of the high planes with very little to see but mountains in the distance to either side and a wide plain stretching before us with nothing on it.  We had been driving for quite a while.  Long enough that we thought it would be fun to get out and try to pet the lamas.  Needless to say the lamas did not find this game nearly as fun as we did and they kept trying to hide in the pool of water away from our reach.  We did manage a brief touch, but not a real pet.

The roads are not really marked very well, and occasionally there are tracks running off from the main road.  One of these tracks will lead us to the salt flats according to the guy at our hotel.  Well we came across a pretty big looking spur that seemed to head straight towards the Salinas Grandes, however after driving down it for 15 minutes we did not appear any closer to the shimmering white in the distance.  Soon the road started to look more like a driveway as a lone house appeared in the distance.  Sure enough the road turned into a small collection of adobe buildings that was someones farm.  We tried to ask directions, but our Spanish was far from good enough and I think they were a little suprised to see a couple of guest.  All we really got is that we needed to go back to the main road and keep going the way we had been.

So we drove back to the main road and soon came to a place where large trucks were pulling in and out of, with a clear road down to the vast whiteness of the salt plains.  We bounced down a rough road and finally got to the salt flats.  Though they were more like a feild that was covered in a light snow.  The salt had apparently blown over the feild killing the grass and leaving it with a thin white coat.  This was not the salt plains that I had read about, so we got out and tried to walk around and find the right spot.  However, there was nothing here more than a light dustying of salt.  We stayed in the area for quite a while trying different roads and routes out to the salt plains but all turned out about the same.  Finally, giving up as an over hyped tourist trap we turned and headed towards Tilcara the town we planned to spend the night in.  About a half hour later we came to the paved road that lead down the mountain, however, the other direction ran right out into the middle of the salt plains so we decided to give it another try.  This time it was the real deal.

I do not know how to describe the Salinas Grandes other than to use the comparision to a frozen lake.  And actually it is over a small amount of water that has collected under it.  It is a vast stretch of white that looks perfectly level.  As you walk across it hear it creaking and cracking, but you are not going to fall in as they drive cars and front end loaders across it to collect the salt.  Occasionally you can see small holes and find large salt crystals that have formed in the pools of water.  It really did feel like being on ice, just without the cold.  As I mentioned the salt is collected so there are piles that have been plowed up and stacked about.

We left Salinas Grandes to head down the mountain on a road that twisted and turned its way down the shear face of a cliff.  From this point we were offered amazing views over the multicolored mountains below.  The road really dropped down quickly and soon we were dring along a river valley down towards the main road.  Purmamarca is a small town almost on the junction of these two roads, however people do not come here because it is convient, but rather to walk through the multicolored mountains behind town.  I have never seen mountains with such bright colors they seemed to have everything: red, green, purple, yellow, and blues.  Each one seemed to be a different color and some had very distinct lines between the different shades.  With scenary like this and a long time since we had seen a town we decided to get a little lunch and enjoy the views.

The rest of the drive up to Tilcara was much the same.  Though the colors were not as bright or distinct, the mountains on both sides of the valley were covered in multiple colors.  Instead of different hills having different colors, the entire mountains seemed to be stripped.  Here is the famous Seven Color Mountain which has very distinct strips making a wave pattern on the side of the mountain.

Since this had been another long day in the car, most of it over rough gravel roads we splurged for a nicer hotel with a sitting room where we could relax and enjoy the fantastic scenary that was just outside our window.

The next morning we had a half day to use exploring before we had to drive back to Tucuman for our overnight bus to Cordoba.  Since there was another Devil´s Throat in the area we thought we would check it out.  However, it turned out to be a long ride up into the mountains to see a narrow canyon with a small stream flowing through it.  After seeing the Devil´s Throat at Iguazu Falls and then another on our drive to Salta this one did not seem that impressive.  It was however a nice walk down into the canyon and a pleasant break from riding in the car.

On our way out of town we stopped at Pucara which is the local word for fort.  This is an old fortified town built upon a low rocky outcroping in the valley.  From this spot you can see up and down the valley great for defensive purposes.  However today there is little left other than low walls with catus growing everywhere.  A couple of the houses have been rebuilt to show how it once looked.  They are not that appealing very small with no windows and low ceilings.  But I imagine they would be pretty good in the cold or if they were attacked by a neighboring tribe.

The drive down to Tucuman was not that exciting compared to the route we had taken up.  We stayed mostly along the main road, stoping only in Jujuy for lunch.  When we arrived at Tucuman just after dark the town was a mess with traffic.  When we finally worked our way to the rental car place there was no where to park, so we parked in a loading zone on a cross street.  I left Michelle with the car while I went to go ask where to park.  When I came back with the attendant we were getting a parking ticket, which fortunately the attendant talked our way out of.  When I asked Michelle why she did not say anything, she said she had been too busy trying to pack up and did not notice the cop writing the ticket.  After turning the car in we had no problems getting to the station and catching our bus to Cordoba.

Bill