I think of all the countries I have visited in South America, Argentina varies the most with it’s climate, culture and terrain. If you compare Patagonia, ice fields and snow caps with Northern Argentina, desert and canyon structures, it feels like you have surpassed into a different continent.
Getting from Mendoza to Salta is a hefty bus journey, it took me 20 hours. It originally was supposed to take 18 hours but we got blockaded by protestors in the road. I was told that this was common practice for the North of Argentina, with the financial crisis that is occurring there at the moment.
It was on this bus journey that I started to get real travellers fatigue. I was exhausted and I couldn’t be bothered to travel anymore. I draggedmyself of the bus and made my way to the hostel ‘Hostel in Salta’ or ‘Salta por Siempre’ as it is advertised. I really had low expectationsof this place as I walked in as the reception staff spoke no English and I could not see a fellow backpacker in sight.
I was actually really pleasantly surprised by this hostel, at the back of the hostel they had a kitchen and garden where everyone sat and socialised. No organised fun just a simple table and a bar where you could buy drinks if you wanted to. There was also a really good fruit and veg stall nearthe hostel where I was able to make my speciality dish: guacamole! There was also a lady selling tortillas with cheese in the middle (basically like a calzone).
Half an hour in and I had secured a place in a car with 4 lovely people. Before I arrived in Salta I was told by many that the way to explore the north is by hiring a car. I was anxious that I would not find a group but low and behold my mind was playing tricks on me again, it always works out! One of the guys was also heading north to Bolivia which perfectly slotted into my plans.
Salta is not the most picturesque city, most of the stuff to do is in the surrounding area. However if you do need to fill a day in Salta then I would recommend climbing up the Cerro San Bernardo to capture beautiful views of the city.
You can also organise a tour to El Calafate for relatively cheap which includes a mini bus to the town. The drive here is beautiful, the reddish orange mountains are stunning. You also stop at the canyons and to many view points along the way. You also stop at a winery and souvenir shop (classic tour).
The town El Calafate itself was disappointing, it was just a tourist town with restaurants. The drive there is the best bit. Instead of doing the tour I would drive there in your hire car, as you are on your own timeline and you don’t have to stop every 5 minutes.
It was in Salta after talking to a very inspirational lady (Nihal), that I came up with the idea of interviewing strong inspirational women I meet along the way about the challenges and empowerment they have experienced during their trip. This is a work in progress but hold tight, I will be changing this blog to a different website soon where there will be lots of feminist threads woven in.
For those ladies reading this, be aware that there is a lot of cat calling the further north you get in Argentina. I have a friend who is studying woman’s rights in South America as part of her masters and she informed that Buenos Aires has the biggest feminist movements in South America. Particularly now as they are campaigning for abortion to be legal. I also found out that if you are cat called in Buenos Aires, you can fine the person. Unfortunately, This rule has not made it to outside the capital be warned.
Having spoken to some Argentinian friends, I also found out about the economic situation in Argentina. I’m no financial expert but what I gathered is that as a foreigner prices for things are super cheap due to the devaluation of the peso. For someone living in Argentina this is not the case, prices for them are increasing and wages are not. There was a lot of talk of Argentinians moving to Europe (as many have Italian, Spanish passports) to make money and save up. It was at this point where I felt gratitude for living and working in the UK, where you can make a decent wage. It’s crazy to think that you would make more money booking a flight back to work for a month than working in South America for 3 months.
I ended up staying in Salta for 3 nights as I met some fab people, but I would perhaps recommend 1 or maximum 2.
Romy's Roamings 