Salta - day 2

Thankfully it was a bit less drizzly today so after breakfast we headed down to the square and got some photos of sights we did not get yesterday due to the weather!

Although we had breakfast at the hotel, coco pops again, we stopped off for coffee too, the coffee is not too bad here, and it keeps us going!

There was one museum we really wanted to see in Salta, it houses a child mummy recovered from an ancient archaeological sight in the Andes. The museum was really well done explaining all about the inca tribes and how these children were sacrificed as part of a ceremony back in 1500's, their remains were found as part of a dog in 1999.

The display was in English as well so we got a really good understanding of why/how this happened. It was sad to see the mummified body of a child of less than 6 years of age!

It was well worth visiting and we enjoyed learning more about the inca tribes and their ceremonies.

After visiting the museums and a bit more of a wander, we headed for more coffee, but this time cake as well, yummy!!! We have been pretty well behaved this trip with sweet stuff so this was a real treat!!

By now it was late arvo and really we had seen all there was to see in Salta that we were interested in so we headed back to sort our bags out before heading out for arvo beers.

We went back to the same quirky cafe bar that we went to on Tuesday, the cute
Old lady served us again!!

Dinner was more steak, it is just so good here and really, it's. it something we eat a lot of at home. The service in the restaurant was really good and we shared a good bottle of wine! All for less than $50!

But all good things must come to an end and it was time to head to bed as another early morning bus ride awaits - 7:15am to Tilcara.

Drizzly day in Salta

After sleeping like babies we woke to the sound of rain. On checking the weather forecast we were in for a wet day.

We took time at breakfast, the hotel breakfast was slightly lacking, the highlight was coco pops!

After dropping some laundry in at reception we headed down to the main square to look around at some of the churches and sights of the city, but our efforts were hampered by the rain.

Time for a coffee to wait out the rain and it finally held up a bit so we took some snaps of the amazing churches, even heading inside for a look and realizing a service was going on, beautiful music echoed through the church. Unfortunately the drizzle soon recommenced and without a lot else to do we headed for some lunch in a cute little cafe.

Lunch was great, some much needed veggies were had! South America is very meat and bread focused, so for me a vegetarian lasagna was just the ticket!

After lunch the sun had come out so we took some more snaps around the main square. We realized after a bit of looking around we had probably overstretched our stay in Salta as we still have 1 more day!

Anyway, we made the most of it, heading out for beers where we were met by our pommy friend Pat. Pat is basically following the same route as us, so he joined us for beers and then pizza for dinner and a bottle of wine at the same cafe we had lunch.

Overall it ended up being a pretty good day, just the rain typically soured things a bit. Tomorrow we will check out some museums.

Then off to Tilcara on Friday!!

Pics - travel to and first day in Salta

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Trip to Salta...

Our bus to Salta left at 10:30am so this gave us plenty of time to get ourselves ready and enjoy a nice brekky!

The hotel brekky was pretty decent, lots of choices but typically a lot of bread. Still good though.

We walked to the station, about 10mins walk and waited for the bus, it arrived right on time and we left once bags were loaded.

The drive to Salta is amazing, the bus travels through the quebrada de Cafayate which is just spectacular rock formations of varying colours/shades of red. Despite the beauty though I do have to say the winding roads made us both feel a little ill!

We stopped at a roadside stop at around 12:00 and had some pizza to eat, awesome pizza, about 80c a piece. This helped settle our stomachs and off we went again.

We arrived dead on time into Salta and given it was not too hot we walked the 2.4km to our hotel.

After checking in we had showers and then took a stroll around seeing some local sights and stopping by a pharmacy to buy new nail clippers as I had dropped the last pair and broke them! The excitement of traveling!

We had a coffee and watched a little of the Argentina/Bolivia game before heading off for some beers at the quirkiest little cafe/bar. We were served by the cutest lady and enjoyed having a beer watching more football on an old style TV, it was like stepping back in time.

It was around 7pm by the time and we headed off to look for somewhere to eat, we found a few restaurants and one seemed pretty decent to we grabbed a table.

It was a great choice, really reasonably priced, Pete had steak and a massive salad, I had pasta and also a salad, we got a bottle of wine and the bill came to about $50! Bargain given that's how much you'd probably pay for the steak alone at home.

After dinner it was time to hit the hay, it had been a big day!!

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Last day in Cafayate

We slept in a it for our last day in Cafayate before getting up to a leisurely breakfast. Sadly I woke with 2 bites on my left cheek, which as I've previously experienced recognised the bites as bed bugs! Argh!!!

With bed bugs, they can take a day or two to actually show, so potentially they were from the dodgy backpackers in Tilcara, but to be honest, I had read a review on booking.com that mentioned a bed bug infestation in our hotel! Despite being a good quality hotel, it can be hard for them to control! And I did not bother saying anything as given we had come in with backpacks, it's likely they would say we brought them with us, not to mention the language barrier, we just let it pass!

Anyway, on with the day!!

We headed out towards a winery on the other side of town, it was closed for tastings but we had a good look around and took some photos.

We headed back into town for a coffee and a bit of souvenir shopping, and by this time we were feeling a bit peckish, so a few empanadas were on the cards! The empanada place is super busy and the lady is friendly despite an obvious language barrier. The empanadas were great, we really enjoyed them and headed for a beer afterwards.

It was a pleasant sunny day so sitting in the sun by the square enjoying a beer was a great way to finish off the afternoon.

After freshening up at the hotel we headed out for a pre dinner drink (yes, I recognize we had just been drinking). We were greeted by one of the resident stray dogs who sat with us whilst we had another beer.

For dinner we decided to head to Bad Brothers, a Bodega which is currently claiming the number one spot on trip advisor.

We'd walked past a few times but it always seemed very quiet, and it certainly was but we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and service!

We had a bottle of wine, Torrontes along with some bruschetta and pasta for me and chicken for Pete.

It was a fab way to end our 3 days in Cafayate, such a beautiful town, we both have loved it here and highly recommend to anyone considering a visit!!

We headed home to bed around 11, another bus ride awaits us tomorrow, off to Salta we go!!

Ciao for now :-)

Such a lovely day.....

I woke early, well at 7:30, practically a sleep in for me and headed out for my run. It was a beautiful morning in Cafayate and I could not have chosen a better morning to run!

I headed up towards the hills weaving through the back streets and enjoying the peace and quiet. I did have a few dogs bark at me on the way, but they were harmless, I just don't think they are used to seeing people run!

I ran 5 km and headed back for a shower, so pleased I took the chance to run here, the views of the hills around Cafayate are spectacular!

Pete and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading out for a stroll. We headed out along the main road towards some vineyards we had seen from the bus.
The peaceful feeling is overwhelming and we just loved stopping to take numerous photos.

We headed to a winery where we did a small tour and tasting for free, the guide was excellent, she provided us with a lot of information and made us feel very welcome. The wines were really nice, particularly the Torrontes, a lovely white wine.

From the winery we headed back to town for some lunch in a local tavern that we found on the back streets, it was fun, the food was very hearty and enjoyable!

By mid afternoon we felt full and content! Time for a little siesta!

For the evening we planned on a few beers and wine with nibbles, but we ran into our pinky friend so ended up heading out for dinner of more steak and sharing a bottle of Malbec, all very perfect and a great way to end what was a superb day in Cafayate!

We have one more day here, which is good, it is so pleasant and relaxing, we are really starting to unwind!!

Ciao for now Chicos!!

Onto Cafayate we go......

After 1 night in Tucuman it was time to move on, another early morning bus, this at 6:30am.

One thing I've not mentioned is how it does not get light until around 7:30am, so our walk to the station was in the dark, but all
good as there are loads of people around.

The bus left perfectly on time and before we knew it we were traveling around the sweeping bends climbing the mountains toward Cafayate!

It was at this point I was super glad we decided not to hire a car, the roads were very windy and narrow, the bus had to stop on a number of occasions to allow other buses to pass.

The country side though was beautiful and we really started to feel like we were in South America! Cactus plants the size of a house adorned the hills!

Driving into Cafayate was beautiful and we got to get a real sense of how lovely it would be, vineyards dotting the landscape, and mountains that were so majestic.

We arrived in Cafayate around 12.30, for this stop we chose to live it up a bit and stay in a nice hotel, when we arrived we were able to check straight in.

The hotel and room are lovely, it is also very close the the main square, literally 100m.

After having a much needed shower we headed out to explore and grab something to eat. We'd not eaten much on the bus, just a croissant, so we're a bit pecking. What other choice was there to have but Empanadas!!!!!!

There is a fab little empanada place in town so we enjoyed a beer and a few different types, so yummy!!

Taking a stroll around town we ran into the British guy we had met in Tucuman, we had a bit of a chin wag with him and then decided to go for another beer. He is traveling on his own so was glad for some company.

We ended up enjoying a few more beers and then having dinner together, it was a great evening, we shared a bottle of wine and had a nice meal.

Our restaurant was on the main square, it gets very busy in Cafayate on a Saturday night given how small it is, but the bustling tourist trade clearly keeps things alive.

We needed the day feeling pretty merry and ready to explore more of Cafayate tomorrow, it seems like a great little place and I'm sure our remaining 2 days here will be very enjoyable!!