The harpist in the restaurant on our last evening in Argentina
Day 154 Thursday continued
After both getting square eyed, him doing the blog and me looking at how to do the Brazil side of the Iguazu Falls we decided to go out for our last steak and Argentinian Malbec. I had found a place I quite fancied, it had two cats, and was the place our receptionist recommended, so that was that. It was slightly away from the main street and when we got there looked a bit dark, though was open. Something wrong with the electrics, so few lights, no fan or AC, but strangely TV and WiFi. We stayed, it was easier than making another decision and ice on the pulse points works wonders. Another lady turned up, who we thought was with a man who turned out to be the harpist (I kid you not). After ascertaining she was from Somerset we asked her to join us as our dinner arrived and it was easier than craning round. She is on a 6 month sabbatical from her work at the church, though they seem to have organised a month on a Mission in Brazil and a month in Argentina. She had just finished in Brazil and crossed into Argentina, but was feeling as apprehensive as we were about changing country as she knows a little Portuguese and no Spanish while we are the other way round.
We had a lovely evening before walking her home, just round the corner and on our way back. Arriving at our hotel moments before the heavens opened.
The hotel cat came to say goodbye to us as we left Argentina, much to Jackie's delight!
Day 155 Friday
Our last border crossing, a very touristy crossing as many people try and see both sides of the falls in a day or maybe two while staying on one side. We'd read that taxis have their own lane and are much quicker than buses so we'd contacted a guy called Guillermo De La Rosa, well recommended from the Argentina Facebook page we are on. He would have taken us to and from the falls which we decided wasn't necessary and we probably didn't really need him to cross the border, but why make life difficult? He picked us up, rang his contact on the Argentina border so we were through in seconds, didn't even get out of the car. Arrived in Brazil, he showed us where to go, passports stamped, he took our picture by the Brazil flag and we were off. We had to get out of the car, but the luggage didn't, how easy was that?
Photo at the Brazilian land border crossing. Another new country for us
We then asked a favour of him, could he take us to an ATM please, our last trip, into the Pantanal wants cash. We've still got quite a lot of dollars, but not enough, so serious withdrawals need to be made. 1000 Real at a time in 50 Real notes, now do that 4 times between us. We didn't really want to be walking the streets... He dropped us at our new hotel an hour after collecting us.
We had options, we could try and get a tour around the dam, or we could actually use the swimming pool. We did the latter. No sun, but very warm so we had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, practicing for the cruise home!
An afternoon chilling by the pool at the Dom Pedro I hotel in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil
Day 156 Saturday
An Uber to the bird park which is just before the entrance to the falls where we can't have been far off first in, though is still felt a bit busy. The bird park was the creation of Dennis Kroukamp and his wife who met in Namibia, moved to the isle of Man and then established this park in 1994, without cutting down any trees, to preserve and protect endangered and trafficked birds. He died 2 years later but the park is a tribute to him. We finished with a snack here before walking to the Falls park, bought tickets and raided the ATM here too.
Inn the bird park today and this is a Scarlet Ibis. Fabulous looking birds
Although the park is physically bigger than the Argentina one there is only really one walking trail so you get on a bus for 20 minutes to be dropped off for the 1.5km walk. We still got wet and the views were still stunning, but a much shorter day. So I'm writing while lying by the pool again! Guillermo said Foz du Iguacu is not a touristy town, and not very safe. Add to that the location of the hotel and it's easier just to stay put!
They've got very big leaves here!
I will have to move shortly though to try and get us many of my clothes into my hand luggage as possible. Our flight to Cuiaba tomorrow has a connection in Sao Paulo and I'm getting more and more paranoid about the luggage arriving at the same time we do. Hopefully there should be enough time on this trip, it's the one out to Rio, on Friday that is more scary, Azul, a Brazilian budget airline, changed our flights without letting us know and we now have a 1 hr 40 minute connection in Sao Paulo, keep everything crossed!
This toucan looked like he meant business!
In with the Macaws, I took lots of photos but I really wanted one in flight, this was the nearest I got
Caught in the act of stalking a macaw hoping he would fly off and I could get a good photo
We stayed on until feeding time
There were lots of different birds in the park and I took many photos but we moved on to the falls. The Brazilian side gives much more of a panoramic view, but it's not possible to get them all into one photo, this is just a part of them
This is an aerial view of the falls I stole from the internet and it shows just how extensive they are. At the top is the devils throat, the first walk we did on the Argentinian side. Argentina is to the right, Brazil is to the left. We thought about doing a helicopter ride to get this view, the price was £88 per person, quite do-able we thought, but the reviews were very variable. People who got a window seat raved about it, but people in the middle seat, who paid the same amount, gave it one star as they could see very little past other people. We decided one of us would end up in the middle so decided against it. It's only a 10 minute flight anyway
What did we see down there from our vantage point? The boat ride into the falls. We spoke to some people next to us and told them we'd done it two days ago. They are going to do it tomorrow so we were able to tell them to put their shoes and all electronic cameras into a dry bag, you'll get very wet. However, you're going to love it!
There they go, right into the spray, we remember it well!
This is looking up the falls towards the devils throat
There's a walkway they've built out into the falls, we'll have to go out there despite it looking wet and very busy
It certainly gets you out into the thick of it. Lots of spray around and we got quite wet. I was a bit worried about my camera which isn't waterproof but it seems ok. Forgot about my hearing aids though, one stopped working but a good dry out and it seems OK again
Over the edge into the abyss! These always look so much more dramatic when you're there
At the furthest point looking back, you can see the spray
Dramatic shots
At the top of the falls, looking across to the Argentinian side. Those people are standing where we stood a couple of days ago looking down into the Devils Throat. You can't really see it, but there's a huge void down which the water is cascading
I'll finish with this. I had to take some panorama videos of parts of the falls in various parts of the walk and, in this YouTube I've just stuck them together just to give an idea of the atmosphere. It's only just over a minute and a half long. That's it from Iguazu Falls, signing off from here, see you in the Pantanal with, hopefully, some photos of Jaguar (the wild cats not the cars), which we've been assured is very likely (100% certain our tour organiser said, which is always a bit of a worry - how can anyone give a 100% guarantee?)
Wanting a relatively early dinner yesterday (most places don't open till 20.00) we ended up in a cafe/resto/bar, open all day. Another steak and bottle of wine seemed on the cards, looking at the price we thought it would be a steak each, thank goodness we asked, 500g with chips for £14! And I think it weighed more than 500g, it was huge.
So after the red wine hots, and or the meat sweats we had a relaxed get up. Check out and Uber to the airport. He chatted all the way, in Spanish, but we did manage a conversation. As we apologised for being English, he said what everyone we've spoken to has said, it's nothing to do with us, it's all political. Messi and Beckham are friends but play for different sides, and so on.
Have a look at this Youtube, it ranks among the most crazy things we've done. A speedboat ride into the falling water of Iguazu Falls. No sound with it as my go-pro equivalent was in its waterproof housing
Another easy, single hop flight got us to Puerto Iguazu. The Argentina side of Iguazu falls, where it was raining, a lot. Our taxi driver offered to be our driver for the falls, but wanted 40,000 pesos whereas the bus was 28,000. It wasn't actually the money though so much as how we were going to call him (unless he was going to stay all day). He was talking to us using Google translate on his phone, but then he had no cell for much of the journey, although we would have WiFi at the park, that wouldn't help him! By the time we got to the hotel he'd obviously decided he was onto a loser and just dropped us off. Proximity to the bus station was the main reason we picked this hotel after all. Out in the rain to get our bearings and buy bus tickets, might as well be prepared. We had planned to walk to the 3 countries viewpoint, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, but not in the rain.
Approaching Devils Throat, Iguazu Falls. Have a look into the void in the Youtube below
Day 153 Wednesday
A much nicer day, hurrah, so breakfast at 07.00 to be at the Park as early as possible. We had talked about booking our entrance tickets in advance but I'd decided against it as apparently you had to specify arrival time. The queue for tickets was long, and slow, so we would have been better off buying in advance particularly as when we got to the front it was an old fashioned card swipe machine, not chip and pin so Brian's card didn't work. We hadn't taken all the cash we had with us, so hadn't got enough (45,000 each) scan the QR code to book online then (they have provided WiFi over much of the park which is quite impressive). This was ok until he started putting in the CC details and there was an extra box which we couldn't translate. Fortunately the help desk knew it was passport number. Then there was a big queue to get through the gate......
No sound on this as my go-pro equivalent was in its waterproof housing, but its impressive looking down into the Devils Throat
After this however it all got better, the big queue actually moved very fast, we got round most of those in front and got to the train ticket desk and got a ticket for 15 minutes time. The train is included, but they issue times for busy periods. We could have walked but it would have taken possibly an hour and we had lots of other walking to do. Boarding was efficient and we disembarked ahead of many others to walk 2.2km to Garganta del Diablo or Devils throat. This is the walk everyone does, and the one with the least shade. It was closed for much of last year as some of it had washed away, it is a long walkway over the wide river so you can't go without it. We made good time and although it was busy it was fine and we got to see lots of water falling over the edge. See our Relive video with more photos: click here
Photos never do it justice, its just amazing to be there
The other two main routes are the upper and lower circuits, though the lower is still quite high. We did both of those, not just looking for water, but wildlife too. We didn't see much wildlife really, just opportunists who know that all these people carry food with them. Still the coati and the plush crested jay birds were very cute. The black vultures circling overhead not so much! The water is the main event though and there is certainly a lot of that. See our Relive video with more photos of upper and lower circuits: click here
We finished both these circuits quite quickly with a short stop for snacks that we'd taken with us, and water which was freely available from taps marked Potable water throughout the park. Also very impressive. We had planned 2 days in the park, but it was only 12.15 and all that was left was the Gran Ventura (the boat ride) and the more remote macuco trail. If we do the boat ride and don't come back tomorrow, we will effectively get one of us doing it for free. (Second day park entry is half price if you get your ticket validated, but the bus would still add up to 28.000, making a total of 73.000 - about £52) The boat ride sounded a bit of fun, but more fairground than nature, but we felt we had to do one (there is also a boat trip on the Brazilian side) and this is the better one from what I've read.
This is a short Youtube of various bits of the falls, this time with sound!
I think we got Mr. Grumpy in the ticket office though and ended up with tickets for the last trip at 15.15 so lots of time to kill. We stopped for an ice-cream before heading all the way to the park entrance where we knew there were lockers. The boat ride is very wet, and we had our passports as well as phones, wallet, his hearing aids etc. The locker room was locked so we went looking and found someone from the boat company who said we didn't need to do that, they provide dry bags and the storage would probably cost us 20,000 pesos (the cost of our last steak). We went through what we had and decided we could put the valuables in the dry bag that Brian's waterproof was in, put that in the rucksack and put the rucksack in the dry bag that is in it! Then put it in their dry bag. Neurotic? Not us! Back to the booking office as although we were going to be very early, there was AC and WiFi. Brian settled to read the paper and I spoke to the desk. I managed to change our 15.15 tickets for 14.00, and we were off, the last 2 spaces on the lorry.
In theory this is a jungle nature ride, but we didn't expect to see anything, it's just the 20 minutes to the dock. Then a long walk down, which was obviously going to mean a long walk back up the steps, but that's ok. Life jackets and big yellow dry bags. We'll take one each and put our shoes in the second. No children on this trip, but they have to be at least 14 to do this ride. We whizzed up the river, towards the falls seeing a couple of capybara on a sandy beach (no pictures, as he wasn't quick enough. Phone and camera were hidden away, just the GoPro equivalent to hand). The falls were very impressive as we came towards them, but for most people it was all about getting wet. And so we did. Glasses off, just in time, as it is quite indescribable, the amount of water that came down, it was impossible to open your eyes and the noise was huge. Three times he tried to drown us, all very silly, but what an experience.
We saw a few of these fish that seemed to be sucking onto the rocks to stop them being swept over the edge
We were still dripping when we got back up half the stairs, here the sensible people got changed into the dry clothes they'd brought with them. Hmmm, we'd been planning this for tomorrow. So, carry on uphill. Not quite dripping as we got into the lorry, but left a puddle on the seats when we got out. A brisk half hour walk through the park back to the entrance and I'm still wringing water from the hem of my shirt, and my pants are still wet as are my trousers. The bus back to town is there, with 2 spaces left so on we get. Half an hour back to town and fortunately no puddles on the seat (which were plastic). Back to the hotel and into the shower fully clothed, it was still all damp and needed a good rinse at the very least! At no point were we in the least bit cold!.
Out for a lovely meal. Local Catfish and a localish sauvignon blanc. It was the service and attention though that made us feel very special. We had a laugh with both our waiters and were rewarded with a limoncello on the house, always gratifying when you get something that not everyone did!
A cormorant sitting on a rock above the falls
Day 154 Thursday
No need to get up early to go back to the park so a much more relaxed breakfast. We'll walk the long way, via the port, to the three countries viewpoint. Brian was vaguely interested in getting the ferry across to Paraguay but it really was just for the sake of it, so I talked him out of it. The viewpoint too was just for the sake of it, you can see three countries, but the borders are actually in the rivers, so you can't stand with a leg in different countries or anything, but it's one of those things that Brian has to do! Yesterday the forecast had been for thunderstorms today, and there may be some later. But by the time we got back to the hotel just after midday it was 31° feels like 35°! Too much for me. See our Relive video with more photos of our Triple Frontier walk: click here
Not too many spiders but they were about, fortunately a distance away
We walked the walkways above and below most of the Argentinian side of the falls. In this photo there's a walkway right on top of the falls....
This, I think, is the fall from the top
Even this is only a small section. It's hard to describe just how big they are
Some wildlife on the path too. These are Coatis
We saw quite a lot of these. They are Plush-crested Jays. Love the blue eyebrows!
A lot of these were flying over the falls, they are black vultures
Todays walk to the Three Country viewpoint. In this photo are three countries. On the left of the Iguazu River is Argentina, Brazil is to the right and straight in front on the opposite bank of the Parana River (the Iguazu River joins it) in Paraguay
At the actual viewpoint looking up the Parana River with the Iguazu river joining from the right. The bridge connect Brazil to Paraguay and is known as the Puente de la Integracion. Further upstream and not in view is the second largest dam in the world, the Itapu Dam that straddles Paraguay and Brazil providing a vast proportion of Paraguay's electricity. I did read that, before its construction the Parana River had waterfalls even bigger and more impressive that Iguazu falls, but they are now lost beneath the huge reservoir behind the dam
No such easy way to get to Paraguay from Argentina though. That's the only way on that little car ferry tugged by the little boat.
There it is having just docked in Paraguay. I was tempted to go over there, but there's little to see
It was there so we had to take a photo. Can you see Jackie?
At the viewpoint and using the photoframe provided!
The round blocks show the colour of the Paraguay, Argentine and Brazil flags
Just the one photo of me on our paragliding day in Mendoza
Day 145 Tuesday
Brian spent the morning finishing the blog and doing YouTube while I very bravely wandered the streets on my own. Firstly to see if I could change 1000 peso notes into something bigger. Until very recently the biggest Argentinian note was 2000 peso which is not even worth £2.00 and we've not seen many of them. They have recently introduced a 10,000 and 20,000 peso note but in the 50,000 I was getting from Santander at least 10,000 maybe 20,000 was in 1000's. As you can imagine Brian's wallet looked ridiculous so he didn't want any more. I wandered into a bank and managed to change 20x1000 into 2x10,000. Good start. I then had to go back to the hotel to unfreeze my card which I've had to do to use it since January when there was an attempted Uber payment in the UK which obviously wasn't me. Off to Santander to get another 50,000 out as there seemed to be loads of ATM's in Mendoza but not so many in Cordoba and Salta. It did cost me 25p less on Tuesday than it had on Sunday for my £33, that's how quickly inflation is changing here.
Cordoba, the lake in the Biodiversidad park
Uber to the airport for our flight to Cordoba, Argentina's second city. In theory very attractive, but not necessarily much to do so only 2 nights. Easy flight though we had to do a luggage shuffle as on Aerolineas Argentina hold baggage can only weigh 15kg, with carry on at 8kg. Makes no sense, just means I have to carry more on my back!
Uber at the airport may have let us down, it seemed very expensive (3x what we are paying to get back to the airport) and when the Uber turned up it was a taxi, who for some reason put his meter on which came in at a lot less than the price on Uber! Oh well, it's been better every other time. He also drove like a nutter getting us to the Grand hotel Victoria in record time.
The cathedral in the plaza at Cordoba
The hotel was the first luxury hotel in Cordoba, but is now looking a little faded though still comfortable and well positioned. Only 5pm so straight out for a look around. First stop tourist information where the man took a deep breath and used his best English to tell us where to go. He was great and we had a good wander, firstly stopping in a fab rooftop pub for a good pint overlooking an amazing church and then moving back towards the hotel for dinner. We had pretty much finished when a guy came in off the street and asked if he could have our bread which we hadn't touched. He took that and then reappeared a moment later with a bag asking if he could have our uneaten chips too. Of course, but how sad.
Inside the magnificent cathedral
Day 146 Wednesday
We had booked a free walking tour at 11.00 so went for a walk to the big park first, this was pleasant enough, but I'm not loving Cordoba, it seems to vary so much from one street to the next.
We made our way back to the Main Plaza and the statue of San Martin taking care to avoid the protest that was making it's way, very noisily, around the square. We think this was a regular, Wednesday, pensioners protest. The new government has to make savings somehow and 30% of them apparently are coming from payments to pensioners. It didn't seem threatening but did make it hard to hear Tommy out guide. See our Relive video with photos: click here
The Pasaje Santa Catalina leading to the museum of memories. Each of these photos is of a killed and disappeared person from the terror of the 1976 to 1983 military dictatorshhip
We enjoyed his tour though not as much as the girl who said it was the best one she's ever been on, and she's been travelling for a year and a half. We did get a bit distracted talking to a Scottish couple who emigrated to Australia 15 years ago. They seemed a bit reticent to begin with, until they realised we were travelling too, not just on a fortnight holiday, or else they didn't want to associate with English, in Argentina, where there are obviously still strong feelings about the Malvinas. Not that anyone we have introduced ourselves to has been anything other than lovely. They are just coming to the end of a year's long service leave, six months of which was in Scotland, but the rest has been far and wide. All sorts of interesting conversations ensued including money. I said we had mostly been using credit card which we know probably means we pay slightly more in restaurants (some give discount for cash) but is much easier and safer. They have been using Western Union which has been OK, they have all had the relatively large sums they have wanted, but often only in small notes, they have been given sandwich bags full of 1000's. As a consequence money for lunch out with friends in San Telmo Sunday market (close to where we stayed in BA) was in a bag looped around his knee. This was grabbed by someone who was out of the door and lost in the crowd before they could even react. And bang goes any savings made on exchange rates! We stood talking for some time at the end of the tour, but no-one wanted to suggest lunch for some reason so we went our separate ways.
This is Tommy or free walking tour guide, who was quite a laugh. He is standing in front of a crypt (currently closed for refurbishment) that was meant to be part of a planned new cathedral. The pope apparently refused permission to complete it, so it was covered over and forgotten, only to be found by chance many years later
Wednesday is free museum day in Cordoba so we thought we'd better make an effort so we went back to the Marques de Sombremonte museum in the oldest house in the city. Interesting but limited as all in Spanish without WiFi for Google translate. Bumped into our Scottish friends arriving as we were leaving. We then tried to go to the memoria museum for the Disappeared, but couldn't get in so called it a day and went back for some AC. Not being able to face Tommy's 17.00 tour of New Cordoba. I had another call for BeMyEyes which was lovely, weighing out food for her guide dog. She did introduce us, but he wasn't really interested, he knew it was food time!
The oldest house in Cordoba, now a museum to the Marquess de Sombremonte
Out for dinner, though it's becoming harder and harder to find somewhere open before 20.00, some places not opening till 20.30 or 21.00. A place Tommy had recommended was nearby, and open so we went there and had another lovely steak and another lovely bottle of wine. Another call from BeMyEyes just after dinner had arrived, so that as well as the noise both inside and outside meant I had to reject the call. I only hope this doesn't mean I never get another one again. He'd offered us eggs with our steak which I'd turned my nose up at, but he brought them any way. There were also 2 bread rolls we hadn't touched that had come in a brown paper bag, so I combined the two and made two egg rolls. Now just to find someone as we walk through the Plaza that wants them rather than someone who will be insulted. Sadly it wasn't difficult!
The magnificent (and much more colourful than in this photo) Iglesia de los Capuchinos in Cordoba
Day 147 Thursday
We had all morning before we had to leave for the airport for our flight to Salta so we went to the Jesuit centre for the 10.00 tour in English. We hadn't paid attention though and didn't realise we had to book this the day before so we settled for the self guided tour which was absolutely fine. The lovely lady even whisked us into the Graduation Hall which was shortly to be used for that very purpose. The whole centre and church were beautiful, a very well spent £4!
The Gan Hotel Victoria, our hotel in Cordoba, a beautiful but slightly faded grand hotel
We walked past the memoria museum which was open. Despite being all in Spanish you could feel the horror of the place that had been used as a prison before people were moved on. It was full of histories of not only the Disappeared but also the people responsible for the arrests and tortures. 30,000 people Disappeared in this period.
The museum of memories in Cordoba. This was an old prison and torture centre in the military dictatorship era, a very emotional and thought provoking museum
Lunch at a Parilla recommendation, only open during the day, so ideal. Full of locals having the full experience we shared a set lunch of empanada followed by ribs and fabulous roasted vegetables, and a hideous desert. We didn't need it, just as well, but always good to try things.
One room had cards you could pick up and read of those responsible for the torture, here's two of them. They were all in Spanish, but this is a Google translate screenshot in English
The flight was fine, though we had been waiting at the gate on our printed boarding cards which was the wrong gate and by which there was a trolley of luggage on the tarmac, you can guess my worries, fortunately unfounded. As we exited the hall all set to press the button for an Uber a lad asked Brian? I recognise you from your WhatsApp picture. That could have been embarrassing, I apparently had requested a pick up from the hotel!
And inn another room posters of missing people, arrested by the military police. Again this is translated using Google translate. The fact that the whole museum focussed on individual people in the original prison really brings home the horrendous suffering and torture these people were subjected to
On arrival at the hotel I just wanted to dash out to get something quick and easy, but even the pizza restaurant didn't open till 20.00. We walked around, killing time, though Salta seems like a really nice place. We found the agency our trips are booked through, just at the end of our street, which is convenient as our street is completely blocked off so we'll just walk round for 06.40 after our early breakfast.
The Jesuit church and centre in Cordoba. Really interesting museum that featured a lot of early maps and history of South America and how the borders of each of the countries have shifted over the years through wars
Day 148 Friday
Yes, a very early breakfast and round the corner to the agency. We were off by 06.45, though we did spend a while collecting people, including Sue and Paul who had actually been collected by the wrong bus and needed to be returned so we could collect them. We knew doing these tours would be long days, but at least we can both sleep or stare out of the window which wouldn't be the case if we'd hired a car and Brian was driving.
First of our three days of Salta trips and we arrive into stunning scenery on Route 68 south into the mountains towards Cafayate
We headed South out of Salta towards Cafayete through some stunning scenery. We stopped at a couple of old waterfalls which which don't sound very impressive but the 'Devils Mouth' and the 'Amphitheater', were well worth a stop. Other formations followed, some of which would probably fit their description better after a glass of wine!
First stop is the Garganta del Diablo (Devils Throat) and it is a lot more impressive than shown in this photo. The rock was carved by a huge ancient waterfall of some 1000m height that would have been very impressive
This was almost remedied by a stop at a vineyard just outside of Cafayete where we had a little tour and a sample of a Malbec and a torrontes, the latter of which I really quite liked. We arrived shortly afterwards in Cafayete where we had a couple of hours for a late lunch. We'd been chatting on and off with Sue and Paul, 9 months into their one year sabbatical, so we all went for lunch. It wasn't quite the lunch we expected as Paul has been given a very short window to decide whether to return to his job. He had changed his mind 5 times in the course of the morning so all in all it was a very interesting conversation over a set lunch and a bottle of wine.
Further on we arrive at the Amphitheatre, another impressive rock feature carved by an ancient waterfall
A couple of hours back to Salta now so I might just rest my eyes!
Entering the amphitheatre. Jackie is a little distracted talking to Sue, who, with husband Paul we met on the trip and had lunch with. The amphitheatre is acoustically excellent and there were a couple of musicians playing to demonstrate when we were there
Day 149 Saturday
Our second day trip from Salta, so again the alarm was set for 05.30, breakfast and round the corner for 06.45. onto the bus and pickups from 10 hotels, which is unusual apparently, but still meant we were only leaving Salta at 08.00, what with people being not ready and even locked into their hotel! Monica, the guide, was very apologetic, even asking if we needed a toilet as they normally schedule one after about an hour and a half!
Still on our first day trip, we stopped a little further on to climb a small mount and admire the scenery
Anyway, a we finally set off, north, towards the salt flats. Again, the scenery en route was one of the main attractions and it was stunning, though we are well aware that the colours don't come out so well on photos. A few stops on the way including a brief one at Purmamarca for 7 colour rock. We then headed up to a pass at 4170m where it was quite cool, what a relief. The road was many many hairpins, worse I think, than Las Caracoles from Chile to Argentina, altitude however didn't seem to be an issue.
And how splendid it is
On to Salinas Grandes which are all part of the same geological feature as the Bolivian salt flats at Uyuni. The locals will take the staged photos for you, for a modest fee, though it appeared keeping others out of your shots would be the problem. Instead, we crossed the road and we're in splendid isolation so we took our own silly photos, and some for the young French couple, who irritatingly have been last back into the van at every single stop! I was really delighted though to see the fox that I had just caught sight of as we were driving in come trotting across the flats. I was even more delighted when we crossed the road ourselves and looked at all the people, but then found the fox curled up behind one of the food stalls. He looked very healthy and very cute.
Some rock features that were pointed out on the way. This is supposed to resemble a toad and I can see what they mean
We were all starving by this point, despite snacking on biscuits so were glad to arrive back at Purmamarca for lunch at 15.00. The lovely Monica had booked tables, though we had no obligation to eat there, at that time our options were limited, and we were keen to have a good lunch, so that, like yesterday, we don't have to bother with dinner. Homemade purple pasta with mushroom sauce was great! We ate with Hamish, a young Scottish actor, who as if being an actor isn't hard enough is living in Paris where he acts in French, and Spanish, as well as English!
And this is supposed to be the Titanic. Now here I'm struggling, perhaps I need more wine!
Monica had recommended the 45 minute hike around 7 colour rock, which obviously we had to do, though whether it was a good idea at 2500m on a full stomach is debatable. It was well worth doing though. See our Relive video: click here
Now just the 3 hours back to Salta. We have said, as yesterday, we'll hop out anywhere within a 5 block radius of our hotel if it's quicker to walk! Monica understands where we are coming from! Poor Monica, finished teaching at 22.30 last night, then had a 3 hour drive home before getting up at the same time we did. More pick ups than usual, but at least everyone speaks English, so she has only had to say everything once. She did try and give the teachers pep talk about being respectful to your fellow passengers and being back when told but this has fallen on deaf ears. She has also had to try and help the girl who couldn't get out of her hotel, not with her hotel but with her flight. Apparently her onward flight is at 20.50, not good with an optimistic ETA back I'm Salta of 19.45! And no, she hasn't got her luggage with her! Who would do this job?
Our visit to the Vasija Secreta winery in Cafayate with sampling of a couple of wines
Day 150 Sunday
Today was a bit of a disappointment, when we said to Monica yesterday we were going to Huamamarca she said, "oh the 14 colour mountain" that is what we were expecting. We knew we were covering a lot of the same route as yesterday, but that as the other two trips had been good, this one would be too. As it turns out the 14 colour mountain is an optional extra which because we booked with Viator before arriving in Salta we were never offered, this is despite going into the agency the night before all three of the trips just to check in.
The cathedral at Purmamarca with our tour bus waiting
So another day up at 05.30, long bus trip, looking at the 7 colour hill again and stopping at Purmamarca again where despite two stops yesterday we did manage to do something different, going up the viewpoint we'd decided against yesterday. We seemed to get later and later leaving every stop until we arrived in Huamamarca where the transfer bus was waiting for the 4 people who where doing the 'extra' trip. We were feeling a bit aggrieved by this, but having had our lunch and a walk around the town (which was nice), and sat and done the crossword, at the prescribed meeting time 2 of the 4 appeared to have just ordered the same three course lunch we had, so we had to wait an extra 45 minutes which has really rubbed salt in the wounds!
We're still on the first day of our three days of tours and this was on the way back. Here Sue and Paul are looking at 'The Castle' (yes, I can see that). I thought this was a nice photo of them on the year away. They have until June before they return to Bristol UK and make their decision for their future, take redundancy and pay off the mortgage, but have to work for another two or three years before retiring, or keep their jobs open? Difficult decisions and we had an interesting conversation over lunch with them, offering an impartial view, but they have yet to make their decision. We hope they'll keep in touch as we want to know what they finally decide
We have just stopped at The Tropic of Capricorn for a photograph, so that's a first. It was marked as the Inca used to perform the Inti celebration here at midwinter to encourage the sun to come back. We've crossed the Equator at the Centre of the World in Ecuador too so I guess he'll now be looking for a point where the Tropic of Cancer is marked too.
Tilcara is a scheduled stop which he's insisting we do, I guess because he doesn't want the grief of someone complaining we didn't stop to the agency. It's just going to be another long day!
Tilcara was fine, except they seemed to get lost driving in! Then when asked, the guide didn't know if there were any toilets. Does this mean it is somewhere that normally gets missed and there has been complaints? Anyway, we looked in the church, had an ice-cream and found some toilets. Bet we don't get home till 21.00!
More fabulous scenery on the way home on day 1 tour
Day 151 Monday
I woke up at 05.15, I'm a creature of habit, but I did go back to sleep. We went to breakfast at a sensible time which was much more pleasant. So, blog or see Salta in the daylight? Doing a bit of blog before going out seemed to make sense, except it was already vaguely raining and it is a getting worse sort of day so we'll go out for a quick look around.
It was a very quick look around, a couple of Basilicas , bought some toothpaste, exciting things! It is actually a public holiday, The Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice commemorating the victims of the Civic-military dictatorship of Argentina, the Disappeared. It is held on 24 March, the anniversary of the coup d'état of 1976 that brought the National Reorganization Process to power. This means some shops are closed, but we are not bothered and maybe some museums are open, that aren't usually on a Monday. In theory there is a museum we should go to that contains the mummies of three Inca children discovered in 1999 at the top of the Llullaillaco volcano. They were sacrificed in a capacocha ceremony where they were typically given alcohol and coca leaves and deposited at the place of the ceremony. Sacrifice was primarily carried out through four methods: strangulation, a blow to the head, suffocation, or being buried alive while unconscious, though if the ceremony was carried out in a particularly cold place, they could die from hypothermia, as was probably the case here. We might go and have a look later. See our Relive walk of the centre: click here
Day 2 of our 3 days from Salta tours and this time we go north to Salinas Grandes. This is a solar powered train (only partly solar powered) on a refurbished railway line. The line was abandoned in 1997, but part of it recently has been reopened, at the moment only for tourists to Tilcara. The intention is to refurbish the entire line up to the Bolivian border, eventually and open it for all traffic
We stopped for a coffee to watch the parade go past. It has stopped raining, but the blog has to be done before we leave here tomorrow to go to Iguazu falls.
Today was a long day to the salt flats in Jujuy province (pronounced hu-hui) but was helped tremendously by the bubbly Monica, our guide for the day
Just look at the colours of the mountains in this photo near Purmamarca. The seven coloured mountains they call it. Imagine the colours being even more vivid than shown in this photo, they are amazing! We came back to them in the afternoon and took a short walk through them. More on that later
On to the Salinas Grandes (salt flats)
Not as impressive as the Bolivian salt flats, but a great place to be. There's a snow capped mountain in the distance and we are around 3500m altitude
We decided to do some silly photos, much as we'd had done in Bolivia. This was the best one on our own, mine of Jackie were a bit blurred. A French couple were nearby so we showed them how to do them and took some of them. We asked them to take some of us...
This was the best one
Our hands weren't quite aligned on this, I'm supposed to be pulling her up
Then we saw this fox walking by in the distance
And then found him settling down in a quiet area away from people
Isn't he cute!
Salt house and salt table and chairs
Guanaco's on the road out, one of four species of camelids in South America
The long, tortuous RN52 road that leads from Salta to Chile as it climbs over the Cerro Colorado mountain
At the high point of the pass
Arriving back at the seven coloured mountains we took a walk through them after lunch
It was a lovely, colourful walk all the way and only just over 3km long
Time for a selfie
Fabulous colours all the way
Right to the end
We're on day 3 of our Salta tours now and this was back in the same place at Purmamarca and more beautiful mountains
Jackie took this panorama at a viewpoint
This is in Humahuaca (pronounced umawakka) high up in NW Argentina on the RN9 road to Bolivia. It's an old town with an interesting history, being on a bit of a crossroads during the wars of independence from the Spanish. Indigenous peoples and settlers fought the Spanish in the early 1800's and this town changed hands 9 times and was completely destroyed twice! Now a peaceful place with some interesting old buildings overlooked by beautiful mountains
The old cobbled streets round the plaza
A splendid monument exists by the main plaza depicting the battles against the Spanish. The indigenous leader stands atop, in the centre are his people, to the left at the Spanish and to the right are the settlers fighting with improvised tools
Love the old, beautifully restored Cabildo
After our visit to the Salinas Grandes perspective shots have become a habit
For Jackie, the day is complete!
And for me, a visit to the imaginary line of the Tropic of Capricorn, my day is complete too. And, if you're interested, it was here: click here. How accurate it is I've no idea
We could have done without this final stop at Tilcara as it was after 6:00pm and we knew there was still a three hour drive back to Salta. Still it was nice, we looked in the church, had an ice cream and listened to someone singing in the square
So after three very long days of tours where we were up at 5:30 am and finished at 7:00pm on the first day, 8:00pm on the second and nearly 9:30pm on the third we just wanted to relax! Up at 7:30am today (what a luxury!), a stroll round town today and coffee at a cafe on the plaza. It's a day's holiday in Argentina today, it's their day for Remember of truth and justice, where they remember the killings, torture and disappearance of loved one's in the military dictatorship of 1976 to 1983
The country is now open and democratic (though still with many problems), but look at these people in the parade, 'exile never again' and 'memory on the march multiplies'. The lady with the white headscarf represents the original movement in the country of the grandmothers searching for those they lost. Babies were confiscated from mothers and given to military personnel or favoured people and those people grew up without knowing the truth. Today, anyone with birthdates between 1976 and 1983 are offered DNA tests free if they suspect their origins. They are matched with DNA of families who lost children and, so far over a hundred have been reunited with their birth families
I made this Youtube of a little of the parade today
Some other sights around Salta today, this is the rather gaudy cathedral (and for the second time of going there I couldn't take an internal photo as there was a service going on)
The theatre
And the historic Cabildo. All these are round the plaza in the centre (and just round the corner from our hotel)
Not in the plaza but very close is this lovely building, the San Fransico convent. See what looks like curtains in the lower openings? They are stone carvings
It's fabulous inside too. What a great place Salta is, the town is lovely but with all the amazing scenery around it's no wonder it's on every tourists visit list
But I'll leave you with this. It's something that has made us feel a little uncomfortable on a number of occasions, although no-one has shown hostility to us when we've said we're English. The sign says 'Don't forget, they are not negotiable' and the image is a map of the Falkland Islands, Las Malvinas to the Argentines and you can see they are coloured in the Argentine flag. This was in the centre of Cordoba, but we saw similar things everywhere. Even today during the parade in Salta someone was carrying a placard showing this image, yesterday on our tour we saw one guide wearing a t-shirt with the symbol on it and we've seen it painted on vehicles. The reminder is everywhere and it seems to be the one thing that fully unites the country. Today Argentina has frosty relations with Chile because, in the Falklands war of 1982 they say Chile betrayed Argentina by siding with 'The British'. It is the reason General Galtieri, head of the military dictatorship of 1976 to 1983, so hated today, invaded the Falklands to try to unite the country. For a while he did and the country was firmly behind him. But he sacrificed ill equipped, young soldiers to try to hang on to power
