- Woke up at 7 in the morning, and someone was already at the computer. Darn it!
- Planned to head to the bank first thing in the morning and Carlos at the (hostel) reception told me banks are closed on weekends, Sat and Sun. Darn it!
- Finished breakfast and walked to the Tourist Information Center to get tips on sight attractions, local buses and buses to Mendonza. Darn it! Prices for buses to Mendonza are ridiculously expensive. Well, I guess it is proportional to the length of the trip: USD 80 for a 19-hr bus ride. Confirmed seat availability at the bus terminal and booked tickets for tomorrow evening. Leaving at 10 pm, and arriving Mendonza at 5 pm the next day.
- From Park San Martin, there is a cable car which goes to the summit of Cerro San Bernando overlooking the city. Given my super expensive bus ticket, I needed to stay on budget and opted to take the 2nd route, which was to take 1,070 steps up the hill. The steps leave from the statue of Guemes, approximately 15 minutes from the cable car station. Stopped by Museo Antropologico at the foot of the stairs - Collection is great, but again there was no English translation in the explanation. Darn it! From the summit, it appeared that houses in Salta are sort of homogenous: white walls with red roofs standing next to each other ... just different in height. Looks like cute little lego toys.
- Walked down the stairs, and from there I toured the Plaza, churches and museums.
- Checked availability for `Train to the Clouds´. It runs twice a week
(Wed and Sat - Darn it! I just missed it) and costs USD 140. Umm ... Who cares if I missed it? Heard the
scenery is fantastic and changes at every turn, and the engineering of the track was a
masterpiece in its day, but USD 140 for a day on a train?
- Had panchos (variation of ´hot dog´, usually sold as street food with papas or corns as toppings) for dinner and mingled with the locals at Parque San Martin in the evening.
