After a long day two days of buses, buses, and more buses (4 in total). I finally made it to Salta. On the first bus out of Uyuani I befriended an Irish couple and after taking a much needed shower, I set off with them to find some dinner. They had gotten a recommendation from their hostel for a parrilla that was supposed to have the best steak in town - so off we went!
We got to the parrilla and it was packed full of locals - an excellent sign. We ordered our first liter of vino tinto and began scanning the menu. Ahhh it was great to be back in Argentina - land of huge slabs of meat for less than 10 bucks. I ordered steak and we split a side of salad and garlic fries as well as the copious amount of side that come with eating at a parrilla. It was delicious and after a few more liters of wine we were best friends with Fernando, our waiter, and had made promises to come back again before we left. If you find yourself in Salta, Monumental is a must. There are two that are across the street from each other. Go to the less swanky one with all the locals. Order the bife de chorizo and the papas provencal.
The next day I slept in and enjoyed the first day in ages with no nothing to do. I took a stroll around town to orient myself and spent some time walking around the plaza. Salta is an adorable city and it felt great to back in an urban environment. I walked down the pedestrian area and did some window shopping and then managed to make myself understood in an electronics store enough to be able to buy an adaptor. I also visited several tour agencies to see about prices in heading to Iguazu. The long and short of it being that for an extra $55 US I can take a plane that is only 2.5 hours instead of the 23 hour bus. I left booking tickets for another day, did some more shopping, and generally enjoyed the slow pace of a day with nothing important to do.
On the following day, I got directions from the guy at the hostel and took the number 7 bus to the end of the line to go hiking in San Lorenzo. You pay only 12 pesos to go to the park and there is a set 1 kilometer walk you can do. However, with my hand drawn map from the guy at the hostel I was able to hike up to the top of the mountain and get some amazing views of Salta. I had a nice picnic up at the top and then slowly made my way back down and into town. It took up most of the afternoon, so I went over to see my Irish friends. We hung out for a while at the hostel and then went back to Monumental. Our original Fornando wasn´t there but we had a new Fornando and the same excellent food. After dinner we headed over to a pool hall around the corner and spent the rest of the evening playing pool. Finally at 3 am the bar closed and we grabed a taxi home.
My last day in Salta was spent wishing a happy birthday to my Mom, buying plane tickets to Iguazu and then a huge lunch at a parrilla place the Irish couple had found a few days ago. After we had two bottles of wine and enormous brandys, it was nap time for me! I woke up in time to walk around the park for a while before meeting my friends again. We had decided enough was enough with meat and went out for sushi. It was a lovely change from meat, meat, meat, and then it was back to the pool hall to make more friends and spend the evening chatting with them.
The next morning I was up early to head to the airport. Adios Salta and Hola Iguazu.
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