Settling in in Salta

After two nights with minmal sleep, including 18 hours cooped up on a bus, I arrived in Salta in a mildly zombie-like state, and was relieved that my hostel for the next few nights had a nice gentleman to meet people off the buses and chuck them in a taxi, at the princely sum of around one pound, to the hostel. Worked for me. Whilst waiting to check in, I got chatting with another lass from the bus, who'd been sitting a few rows forward and was also staying there, an Irish physiotherapist by the name of Lisa, and she joined Ben, Dee and myself for some lunch at a little cafe/restaurant called Alvarez that the guy on reception had recommended. And a good recommendation it turned out to be, being cheap, filling and conveniently on the way into town. After food, Ben and Dee headed back into town to crash out, whilst Lisa and I went to check out some of the various travel agencies in town, all offering pretty similar tours of the surrounding area. We had been thinking just to check prices, but ended up being persuaded by an offer at one place and signed up for a trip the next day up to the Altiplano, the high plateau near the border, taking in multi-coloured hills, salt-flats and part of the route of the Tren A Las Nubes (Train To The Clouds).

We couldn't take the train itself - it doesn't run in the summer, due to weather issues - but this offered us the chance to see some of the route as well as other sights in the area, and it was with an English-speaking guide in a double-cab pick-up truck rather than the usual minibuses, so I swallowed my slight misgivings about prices (I know, that'd be my slight Scots heritage coming out again) and went for it. With plans thus made, I detoured to the bus station again on the way back to sort out my ticket to Chile - the buses only run 3 times a week, so they can get filled up if you leave it to the last minute. Having set this for Sunday, I meandered back to the hostel to partake of the free dinner provided, which was Arroz con Pollo, rice with chicken. To be honest, it was a long way from the best meal I've had, but as it was free there wasn't really anything to complain about. Given the early start the next day and my ongoing lack of sleep, I called it a night around midnight and went to the welcome embrace of my bunk.