jump and salt flats

Hello

Today, I will talk about my third trip to Argentina.

This time, I went to Salta, in the north of Argentina. We left at night from Mendoza and arrived in the city of Salta in the afternoon after a 17-hour drive.

First, we checked into the hostel, where we encountered some problems. It was a rather modern hostel where you enter the building and the room with a code. Unfortunately, we didn't receive this code, so we stood outside the door for a while because there was no reception. In the end, other hostel guests arrived and we were able to reach the reception through WhatsApp.

On the first evening, we just took a stroll in the city. We actually wanted to visit a museum that displays mummies found in the Andes, but the line was too long and time was short. The day we arrived, July 9th, was also the Independence Day of Argentina, and we saw some soccer games and barbecues during our journey. In Salta, there were dance performances. After that, we took a cable car up to Cerro San Bernardo and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, it was already dark when we reached the top. The cable car was the slowest I've ever seen, so we had to wait in line again to go back down, which wasn't very pleasant in the cold wind, but we survived.

Compared to Mendoza, Salta is very different. Overall, it is greener than I imagined, and it feels more traditional and poorer.

The next day, we took a trip to Cafayate, a city south of Salta. Actually, the journey itself is the destination, as you drive through a canyon of red rocks and mountains. We made several stops, for example at Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat) or the Anfiteatro (Amphitheater), which is said to have better acoustics than the Teatro de Colon in Buenos Aires. Sometimes there are even concerts held there, and when we were there, there was music playing.

During the rest of the journey, we could admire huge cacti and impressive rock formations where you can see animals if you use your imagination, such as a frog. We also passed by the sinking Titanic.

Once we were out of the canyons, we drove through a plain with a view of the Andes, where wine is cultivated. We also stopped at a winery. Apparently, the wine is particularly good because it grows at a high altitude. However, having spent a semester abroad in Mendoza, it is clear which wine is better ;)

Then we arrived in Cafayate, a small and charming town. On the way back, we stopped at La Yesera - more rocks :)

The next day, we headed to the north of Salta and the next province called Jujuy. We were not sure if we could even go there because there were roadblocks due to protests by the indigenous people. In summary, the protests are about the governor of Jujuy allowing foreign companies to mine lithium. The problem is that this has negative effects on the people, especially the indigenous communities, who live in these areas, such as the contamination of the drinking water.

However, the problem with the roadblocks is that the region relies on tourism, and with the roadblocks, not many tourists can come.

Well, my Brazilian travel companion and I found a tourism company after desperate searching, which offered tours to Jujuy. It turns out that the roadblocks are opened every three hours, so somehow you can still reach the north.

Our tour started at 6 a.m., and three hours later, we passed the roadblocks and stopped at Montaña de Siete Colores (Mountain of Seven Colors). The landscape suddenly became more arid, and we saw many huge cacti again.

We went up to 4,000 meters above sea level, and our tour guide offered us coca leaves to chew to cope with the altitude (they don't taste good).

Once we reached the top, we went down the other side towards Salinas Grandes - the salt flats. On the way, we could observe vicuñas in the wild, which are a type of llama 🦙. The salt flats were very fascinating and huge, and it was indeed salt, we even tasted it. And of course, we took a lot of photos.

On the way back to Salta, we stopped in Purmamarca, a small village that is still very traditional.

Of all the trips I have made in Argentina so far, this one was the most extraordinary because the landscapes are unimaginably vast and expansive, and I had never seen anything like it before.

Until next time 🦙💜💚🩷