Adventures in Salta, Argentina

Salta is a city surrounded by mountains in the northeast part of Argentina. It came recommended to me by a friend in Bariloche, so I decided to spend 3 days exploring the mountainous region (via an organized Gap Adventures Tour) before jetting to Buenos Aires. I arrived in the charming city and was quite surprised at what I saw. Salta is kind of a mix of European and Spanish architecture, with some New York City boutique shops thrown in. Walking down any street, you will find a bodega, an empanada restaurant, a Citibank, and an adjacent high-fashion boutique (with a name like Rhapsody or Charming). Oh, and of course there’s a McDonalds, which is currently serving “cuisine prepared by the famous chef Pablo Something-Or-Other,” but thankfully, there is no Starbucks.

First let me say that my Spanish has gone to shit. Really. I have been fluent since high school – I never even had to think about speaking it came so naturally. Enter Fred and this decision to learn Portuguese, and POOF…there goes the Spanish. I guess it’s a testament to how well my Portuguese is going (and how similar the languages are) but seriously…I kept trying to talk to the guides and the locals, but all that came out was “Bom Dia” instead of “Buenos Dias,” and “Obrigada” instead of “Gracias.”

Salta is Argentina’s most Incan influenced region, and the people definitely look the part. Many are in traditional Incan dress with alpaca (similar to a llama) ponchos, and they have very Incan features – dark, straight hair, dark skin, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes. If you don’t remind yourself, it’s easy to forget you’re in Argentina. One of the most remarkable things about Salta is the brilliance of the colors: the sky is SO blue, the trees are SO green, and the rocks are SO red!!

My first exploration was south of Salta to Cafayate Canyon, which was amazingly beautiful. On my tour bus were Winston and Kris, a gay couple from Amsterdam; Dieter from Germany (so cliché, right?); and Elaine from London. Throughout the 12-hour excursion, we trekked through the winding roads of this unbelievable gorge (Quebrado del Rio de las Conchas), with the strangest and most colorful rock formations I have ever seen. It was ever-changing: sometimes the rocks looked like giant candles with wax dripping down. Other times they were massive colorful plates jutting out of the ground at all different angles. But the most fascinating rock formations were the “castles,” which were eroded clay structures that looked like majestic buildings. It was truly one of the most fantastic things I have ever seen, and I really don’t think my pictures can do it justice.

After a traditional Cafayate lunch with the group and some shopping at the local markets, we visited the Nanni Winery, which was beautiful but somewhat disappointing – they say you have to look hard to find a bad Argentinian wine, but it seems I only had to look at my first winery! Who knows, maybe I’m spoiled by the California wines of Napa ;) (that’s a joke). Alas, I returned to Salta with a massive headache (likely from Elaine talking my friggin’ ear off for 12 hours…I considered using the “No Hablo Ingles” line, but by the time I thought of it, it was too late).

My second day-trip was a journey north of Salta- to Jujuy, Humahuaca, and some assorted towns/monuments along the way – defined by Gap Adventures as “a trip into the past along the Inca road.” I was informed as I got on the bus that I was the only English-speaking person on the tour that day and the rest of the group was from Italy. “Ok,” I thought, “the guide will speak in Spanish so we can all understand and it will be a good review for me.” But as we began our trek through the mountains, I was utterly dismayed to discover that I could not understand ANYTHING! I mean, I know Argentine Spanish is tricky to decipher sometimes, but this was ridiculous! So for the first hour, I gathered only words such as “mountains,” “colors,” and, of course, “McDonalds.” When we pulled over for a picture-stop, I told her that I thought her accent was so strong it sounded almost Italian to me…at which point she informed me that she HAD BEEN SPEAKING ITALIAN THE WHOLE TIME!! Hello!? Did anyone remember that there was an American on the bus, too? Is it not enough that I speak Spanish and Portuguese, people?? Both frustrated that I missed the first hour of information and very relieved that I was not as remedial as I thought, I asked her to please speak both languages on the tour. 10 minutes later, a couple from Ireland got on the bus, so the tour wound up being in English, too…

Though far less beautiful than Cafayete (except for the Seven Colors Mountain, which was gorgeous), the trip was culturally fascinating. We stopped to see some Incan ruins, present-day cemeteries (which consist of colorful tombs built on hills so the dead can be closer to heaven), and more craft markets, which all look the same after a while. I ate llama meat for lunch (surprisingly tasty), and we almost hit a wild horse in the road on the way back. But alas, the time came to leave Salta…and continue my adventures in Buenos Aires!!