A Little Sugar and a Whole Lot of Salt!

Well, Bolivia has taken me in with open arms after an amazing couple of months in Argentina......

To bring you up to speed. I left Mendoza with Bolivia firmly in my sights. It was time to get rolling north.... But as fate would have it, I met the most amazing crew of Argentine travellers who were all on seperate journeys, exploring the northern region of their country, but had all found eachother and then they found me! What a great time. With this fateful meeting, my quick dash to Bolivia turned into an amazing 10 day wander through some of the most amazing sights in Argentina. Thanks guys!


Our patio in Mendoza! Thanks to the beautiful Rothkops!


Vineyards, vineyards and more vineyards...

First, stop was a spot recommended by my BA amigo Imanuel (Cabo Palonio, Uruguay post) Tafi De Valle. A beautiful little town nestled into the mountain side. Truly magestic. Did a little hike, tried my first Plato Regionales (traditional indian plate of maize, and who knows what else - deliscious). Then it was onto Amaicha which is not a real hot spot on the backpacker route but somehow i ended up there. And of course this is where I met my Argentine crew. We all checked into a hostel and then lined up an excursion of the local sites with a great group of local guys and their invincible jeep. The sights were amazing. lots of old old history here. ancient indian ruins. including the very famous Ruins of Quilmes. An incredible display of ancient indian culture. large sequence of terraces built into the mountain side in the middle of nowhere! water? no idea!


A little walkabout in Tafi de Valle




One serious traveller.....


One serious artist.... Hardly! This guy was super cool


First humita.... so good!


Now THAT is a cactus!









RUINS OF QUILMES


Smile...




Dani taking in the view...










Holes from grinding maize.


Cruisin in style with the Land Rover.... Tough jeep!


Amazing artist.


Tools of the trade.




From there it was onto Salta. I was lucky enough to line up a home through Hospitality Club and Mariela took me in with amazing hospitality. Her and her bright young daughter were wonderful. Thanks so much! Salta was very beautiful. Lots of beautiful buildings and a couple of incredible churches.




Out the right side of the gondola...


Out the left side of the gondola... Welcome to Argentina


Church of San Fransisco
















From Salta it was up North to more beautiful sights... The mountains and rock formations are breathtaking. You cam't believe the kind of colours that can come out of rock! The 7 Colour Mountain in Purmamarca sums it up. Then to Iruya where we stayed in a small little village nestled on the steep side of a mountain hours from any other town. This was one wild drive! what an amazing place. From here we did a 3 hour hike into a nearby village that had no road access. Wow! This could have been the 1200's. incredible. the people are so wonderful too.


7 Colour Mountain. Incredible.


The entire region is filled with these amazingly colourful mountains.






Drying peaches (mini peaches actually - same size as an apricot)




MMMM mmmm mmmm... Empanadas baby!!! A staple in Argentina. Even more deliscious when you are 3 hours hike into a remote mountain village.


Yet another mountain side jam session. Thanks Ricardo (i mean Richard, I mean Roberto...).


Well, from here is finally was time to hit Bolivia. After a couple of nice farewell meals, I said goodby to Argentina and hello to wild world of Bolivia. wow what a different world it is. you see as soon as you cross the border (on foot by the way). food is sold out of big pots on the side of the streets. home made magical good. costs about $1 for a big plate. but watch your chicken! my friend Lisa had a guy nab her piece of chicken right off of her plate as she stood holding it... Good first lesson on Bolivia. watch your stuff. ALWAYS! but the people are very friendly and the landscapes are out of this world.

The first stop was Uyuni. The gateway town to the infamous salt flats of Bolivia. We booked a tour and were off..... 2 nights and 3 days on the salt. wow!!!! 12,000 sq kms i believe. souvenirs made of salt. a salt hotel with everything inside and out made of salt. more crazy rock formations, violent geysers (no fences or gates here! love Bolivia) and topped off by an amazing soak in a natural hot spring as the sun went down. A great group, and a great guide equaled a really amazing time.








The first night we stayed in a families house. Lots of kids (dirty but smiling).


Lunch in the Salt Hotel. Everything but the roof is pure salt!

Hot Spring Time!!



Perfect!


Great game of soccer with some local kids. Should have seen their smiles when we let them keep the ball. Amazing.

Then it was off to Sucre.. Have neglected to mention so far that while in northern Argentina i had my wallet stolen. nice! not much cash but my credit card and more importantly my bank card are now gone. luckily i had brought a couple hundred bucks in travellers cheques (so damn hard to exchange down here!) but they could only last me so long. so..... i am basically out of money and waiting on a wire transfer of cash. luckily i have a place to stay here for free. my bank is sending a new card but it takes 10 or more days so i will pick it up in La Paz. at least that is the plan....... i may have said this before but. ohhhhhhh the joys of travelling!

Well, it has taken me 5 days to get this post to this stage and I think I might as well just cut my losses! It is not easy uploading photos in Bolivia!! Check the Picassa page for the full selection. Tons of pix. Though not all are up yet.....


Hope you all stinky and smiling. I am.


Love,
Joel