In Salta (northern Argentina) having just visited my first museum of my trip. An Inca offering to the gods was to put children to sleep (using alcohol) then bury them at the top of mountains, supposedly the cold killing them before they woke up. 3 children were found in 1999, due to the cold perfectly preserved. Unfortunately the children weren't on show, but pictures a plenty and seeing the expression on one of the kids faces I'd guess that he'd woken up a tad early.
The whole thing is obviously a bit touchy with certain communities of the opinion that the bodies should be left alone, so there was some babble about respecting cultures, then to counter this another child's body found in the 20's was in a display fit for the london dungeon in the shock factor. A darkened alcove could be lit by a button illuminating a hunched up kid staring out with blackend skin pulled over a toothed skiull, nice. (I later found out that the light was kept to a minimum in order to stop deterioration, still good effect though).
Salta's surrounded by very different countrysides, salt planes meet lush green hills meet rocky red canyons - all of which you "must see". I did the rocky mountain one after getting in at 5.30, bus pickup at 7. This included a wine tour at El Cafayate, plus some lunch time beers with some English lads. I knew they were English when the 2 blokes took a cactus knob shot, the girl sighed "can we have a nice shot now?". The bus would stop at rock shapes deemed to look like something else, eg. frogs, priests, castles - as if not impressive enough on their own, generally too controlled, un-participatory for my liking, but then wasn't really in the mood for it.
Being so close to the Bolivian border the people are, obviously, more Bolivian - shorter more rounded faces and darker skin than Buenos Aires. Luckily the nightime brings out the stunners, most of whom aren't from here. The average Argy worker gets only 2 weeks holiday a year (yup) and they all seem to take it at this time, their summer. When writing this I'm the only person staying here not from Buenos Aires.
Anyway the club I went to last night was cringeworthy, people from hostel dancing around to Shinnia Twain having the time of their lives, I obviously looked so miserable (was same day of trip) that 3 girls decided to take pity on me and gave me their wine with a sweet smile on their way out.
