Serendipity in Salta (Argentina)!

Day 1 in Argentina:
Today I crossed the border from Bolivia into Argentina. The 13 hour train ride from Uyuni to Villizan, Bolivia was extremely monotnous. I think the train peaked out around 20mph....I´m not kidding!!! The border crossing into Argentina was pretty easy. Tonight I saw my first Argentiniian sunset! I tried to order a steak at dinner, but was brought the following tray (see the pic). I´m relaxing my no red meat diet while in Argentina as Argentina has some of the best beef in the world, and I want to make sure that I try it.

I´m in another slow internet cafe waiting around for a bus to Salta, Argentina.
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Days 2 and 3 in Salta:
Life´s unanticipated discoveries sometimes unleash great pleasantries, hence Salta, Argentina for me! One weary JLD, beleagered from 6 constant days of travel, arrived in Salta on Friday, June 2nd. Not more than 5 minutes after I got off the bus looking exrtremely deshielved and worn from travel, I had multiple offers from hostals. (Look at the pic of the gent dressed as a gladiator in the coffin if you want to see how I felt when got off the bus.) A dapper and persistant gentleman named ¨Fernando¨ seemed to have the best schtick of any hostal offer, so within minutes I is in a cab heading to the Hostal Acllahuasi, which I recomend after last night´s stay. After cleaning up, I took a walk around Salta. The town has a very different feel from the cities that I visited in Peru and Bolivia. For starters Salta is quite beautiful, surrounded by mountians with a European flare. Most of the first day I walked around the city trying to figure out how to make the best of my time in Argentina. Later that afternoon I went to dinner with Jim, an Alaskan travelling around South America. Jim is a few years older than I am, and more of an invetorate traveller. Don´t worry I´ll be near his travel status by the end of the year! He offered great insights regarding things to see in Argentina and Angkor Watt, a world heritage site in Cambodia that I intend to hit at the end of the year. Before dinner Jim and I drank a bottle of Malbec from Cafayate, a wine region in Argentina that pumps out great juice but is lesser known that Mendoza. Tomorrow I´m taking a bus to Cafayate and plan to spend several nights there...update coming soon.

For dinner I had an excellent steak (I usually don´t eat red meat, except for an occasional In and Out burger, but when in Argentina you have to try the beef.) It´s some of the best in the world. I also tried the humitas which is basically a tamale, and very delicious. After dinner I left Jim and met up with Fernando at the hostal. Fernando took me to a street teeming with local bars. I had a couple of beers and stumbled home around 1:30am. Salta has a really warming, safe feel to it. Being in Salta reminds me of my younger days when I used to drive to Savannah, GA from Charleston. Salta has a lot squares with proud generals much like the ones in Savannah.

I started out day 2 in Salta be hiting an all you can buffet for $15 pesos ($5 US). The food was great and was much needed. I eat quiche, quesa, spinach pasta, and a postre consisting of chopped up fruit. After lunch I caught a local bus to San Lorenzo and hiked for two hours in the pretty hills of San Lorenzo. If anyone makes it to this park, please let me know if you spot a tree that has the intitials, ¨JLD¨ carved onto it! Tomorrow I head out for Cafayate... Argentina is quickly becoming one of my favorite South American countries.
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My last day in Salta I toured the Musuo de MAAM, musuem for high altitude mountian anthrpological studies. This musuem had an interesting study on the 3 sacrificed mummies that were recovered from the 22,000ft high Mount Llullaillaco. Check out this site for more info www.maam.org.ar

Tonight I spent my last night in Argentina eating a delicious steak. Until another country convinces me otherwise, Argentina has the best and freshest beef in the world.