I watched a puff of white air flow from my mouth. I shivered and looked up at the moon and the bright, glittering Stars. I looked at the clock, 5 after 9pm. Then at my ticket. It read, platform 21, 9PM. Where is my bus? I thought to myself as I looked at the empty parking lot infront of me. I was sitting in the lower level of a large bus station. There were many buses on the top level (I could see them from where I was sitting), but none on the lower level.
Smack, Smack. The old couple sitting next too me on the bench was kissing.
"Perdon Senora. Donde esta el bus?" I blushed as I handed her my bus ticket.
"Alli! Vas rapido!" She said as she pointed to the top level.
"Gracias!" I yelled back as ran up the 4 flights of stairs.
....
"Phew!" I breathed as I plopped down in my bus seat. I smiled at the girl sitting next too me.
I took my journal from my bolsa and started writing away. I was writing about this really hot guy I met at the home of one of my Argentinian-friends. Her name is Elisa and she made lunch for me and 2 of her friends earlier that day...then her cousin arrived...HOT! And super nice and shy. I melted and kicked myself for not doing my hair that morning.
"De donde sos?" the girl next too me asked. She must have noticed that I was writing in English...although I don´t know how. My handwriting is worse than that of a second-grade child.
"Estados Unidos." I replied. And that was the start of our long conversation about our families and studies. Her name is Paola and she is going to New Jersey for one year. She leaves in 10 days!
12 hours and a near sleepless night later (it´s hard to sleep in a chair), we arrived in Salta, Argentina. Paola instantly offered to walk me to my hostel. It was too kind of her! Really...I mean you should have seen her high heels, I really couldn´t walk in those for more than...(well, actually, I´m good at walking in high heels, but for the average person...) 2 hours.
Once I arrived at my hostel, I felt like sleeping. I was tired, hambre and sucio. There was no time for sleep; a new adventure awaited me! Paola gave me a kiss and a chao and we promised to meet up when she comes back to Cordoba in a few days.
One thing I´ve really learned from traveling is that you MUST be social. Especially if you are traveling alone. It´s safer, and locals recommend the best restaurants and you save money because you don´t need a taxi as often. If I wouldn´t have formed a friendship with Paola, I would have probably gotten lost trying to find my hostel.
...
I washed up, and putt on some makeup (just because I´m back-packing doesn´t mean I have to look like it). Despues, I went to a cafe in the plaza, people-watched, and ate a humita (pictured below...corn with queso-a traditional food), a basket of bread, and drank glass-bottled water from Salta. All for less than $3.50 usd. Fue muy rico!
Despues, I went to the archeological museo and saw a child mummy. Over 4,000 years ago (before the spanish conquest), the Incas lived high up in the Andes Mountains. Each year they selected the most beautiful children and "sent" (sacrificed by burial with other material offerings) them to the Gods in order to watch over the huge Incan population. This child was naturally preserved by the ice and was discovered in 1999. She looked like she was sleeping. Sleep...something I really needed at that point.
I´ll sleep when I´m dead like this chicidita. I yawned as I looked at her mummified face.
