Salta

Oh how nice it is to have landed somewhere. We are in Salta for the next couple of days. I had a hot shower last night & slept in a warm bed. It may even be safe to say I woke up warm as well. These hostels are not the Hilton, but they sure beat the place we stayed in Villazon. We got the last bed at Hostal las Marias last night & were pleasantly surprised when they told us we had to change rooms, but could stay another 2 nights. I'm thankful. (This also means I can hand wash some laundry as for some reason I only brought 4 pair of socks.) I also put make up on & did my hair. I feel human again. 

Breakfast was bread & jam with coffee & tea. Prior to this morning Chris was on day 3 or 4 without coffee. I am happy to report his behavior did not show any signs of caffeine withdrawal. 

We headed off to see the city of Salta. We bought some much needed hand lotion from an incredibly nice pharmacist. He certainly spoke Castellano which is Spain Spanish. With hydrated hands we headed off to the main square-Plaza 9 de Julio. The main square is closed off by construction signs. There is no tourist information center. We've had trouble extracting money from the ATM as there is a local transaction limit. We've made multiple withdrawals and are eagerly awaiting the total of bank fees when we get home.  

Knowing I get anxious about what is next, we walked to the bus station to plan our journey. We were trying to split up our 18-19 hour journey to Mendoza. Chris lovingly went to multiple ticket counters and we soon discovered that "stoping half way" would add another 10 hours and almost double the cost of the journey. Thus we bought tickets to Mendoza, double checking that there is a baño on board. (Turns out all ticket windows sell the same routes for several different carriers. Why there are different carriers & windows we'll never understand.)

We left the train station feeling confident about our next steps & able to enjoy today. (Chris also mentioned that the cities we've been to are too large to "free-style." This means we've come to an agreement to have certain amount of planning. We also both agreed that backpacking is different when it's warm. Here in the "winter" it gets dark quickly as well as you have to ensure a place has hot water.)

The nice Americans on the bus yesterday gave us a print out of a blog about Salta. The blog talks about the local cuisine as well as a place for empanadas. Thus we walked 10 blocks for empanadas at El Patio de la Empanada. And we ordered 5-and quickly ate them all. Turns out this is not a restaurant. It's a seating area, surrounded by empanada stands. As customers come to the entrance of the patio, waitresses flag over customers & arrange tables, fighting for business. It is quite the sight. One customer started auctioning off his business to whichever seller would give him the best rate. The entire patio laughed. Argentinians are good natured & it's nice to be in their presence (especially after Bolivia). 

We are waiting our second order as well as our order for tomorrow morning's breakfast. And musicians are competing for our attention. It's quite the people watching scene. 

The weather warmed up nicely. The high will be 79 today. I was actually hot and it felt wonderful. After lunch we walked the 20 blocks to the Tren a las Nubes office (train to the clouds). We'd purchased tickets online but for some reason our card was charged but our ticket reservation was canceled. Once that was straightened out we proceeded to sweat our way to sweet treat. I'd promised Chris ice cream every day when in Argentina because I know they have my favorite ice cream (dulce de leche). As we enjoyed our ice creams, the weather felt like the first day of summer-a sentiment that is missed in Texas. 

We walked back the 20 blocks plus some extra (which feels amazing after our couple days trapped on buses) to Salta's gondola for a ride above the city. The nice weather means we were not the only ones with this idea. The views from the top were worth the wait. 

We had dinner at El Charrúa where I had the traditional locro (thick stew of corn, beans, & potato-and fat) while Chris had his first taste of Argentine beef. 

We had awesome conversation while waiting for our meal. Traveling is bringing out our living abroad stories, which were phases when we were not in each other's lives. This trip is as unifying as we had hoped.