Wow. So I am now into week 4. Never really thought about it that way until I wrote it. Hmmmm.
In any case...16.5 hours by AndesMar ´cama´bus delivered me from Mendoza to Salta, at about 25% of the cost that I spent to fly from BsAs to Mendoza. The cama buses are very comfortable, and are huge monsters. There are two levels of seating, and a steward that keeps everyone fed and watered and entertained with movies and a bingo game. Fun. It was far easier to sleep on the bus than I expected, and travelling overnight is pretty efficient...no hotel bill that night. On the downside, I have no idea why I expected good food. The service is great, but the food would make Air Canada look good. For next time: bring fruit and cheese and bread and snacks and cookies and other stuff, water, etc.
Salta (the city): very, very pretty. And very green, and somewhat humid...almost sub tropical after Mendoza. After checking into a hotel and a short nap, I headed out to check out the gondola that goes up Cerro San Bernardo - a decent sized hill in the middle of the city. Same idea as Grouse Mountain, but a lot less snow. Amazing views. I walked down the 1070 steps instead of taking the gondola down (I didn´t count the steps, but I believe the sign), which I thought was pretty impressive, but not nearly as ambitious as all the people walking up.
Salta is very different from where I´ve been so far - a lot of Bolivian, Quechua, and gaucho influence. The food is more interesting than I´ve been eating (except Malena´s meals of course) and the empanadas I bought from a street vendor yesterday were awesome! I had the ´Menu Regionale´for dinner...no idea what it was, but it was very good. I finally managed to see Casino Royale, and after a little GM and coffee at midnight, headed to bed.
It is really easy to be impressed by the level of service here, and overall in Argentina. I ordered coffee and Grand Marnier. The waiter brings out the coffee, a little glass of sparkling water, a small piece of chocolate, and the bottle of Grand Marnier that he pours into a glass in front of me. Huge glass for the GM - probably 3 - 4 ounces instead of the 1 - 1.5 ounces expected. And all for 20 pesos including tip, so about $7. Nice.
I am not surprised, but am a little disturbed by how powerful North American culture is. In the park yesterday afternoon, there was Barney the dinosaur handing out ballons. And the 2 - 4 year old set was going nuts seeing him. I hate Barney.
Today is a completely relaxing day - just hanging out in the central plaza, checking out museums and cathedrals and stuff. Tomorrow, I´ll be heading out for a fairly long tour of northern Salta province including the salt flats, a couple of small Quechua villages, and some ruins that pre-date the Incas. Should be cool.
