Culture shock in Salta

Shared the bottom floor of a double decker bus from Mendoza to Salta with a group of 6 backpackers I think were Dutch or maybe Swedish. The bus was full of backpackers- I met a couple of Irish girls and these two British guys on an around the world tour. Salta's a pretty popular destination for both domestic and international tourists, but since September's not really a popular time for Argentinians to travel, it's just us foreigners, on the busses, in the hostels, and on the tours.

We arrived in Salta about 1.5 hours late. Salta's way up north near the Bolivian border and both geographically and culturally, it seems a world away from Mendoza and Santiago ( and Buenos Aires too, I imagine). You can tell as soon as you get off the bus, simply by looking at the people's faces, that you're nearing Bolivia, it's a different ethnic makeup. And I feel taller than ever.

It's a smaller city, and it's a poorer city than those I've been to. So you have to adjust your instincts and intuition. When walking around a city you don't know, if you wander into a section that seems a little rundown, you know to be on your toes a little bit. But what if the whole city seems a little rundown, a little chaotic, becuase that's just the way it is? You can either be nervous the whole time, or readjust your instincts to fit the context.

I arrived in Salta this afternoon having barely slept on the bus overnight and having not eaten anything since the cup of tea and the cookie we got for breakfast on the bus. And I arrive at the residencial where I staying and it's not exactly the Sheraton, let's say. And then I wander around town trying to find something to eat at that weird time of the afternoon when it's too late for lunch and too early for supper. And the downtown's noisy and a little polluted. Overwhelming.

But I managed to set myself up with two tours into the amazing natural region that surounds Salta - one tomorrow to the Quebrada de Humahuaca to see crazy gorges and rock formations and Inca villages, and one Saturday to the Salina Grande, huge salt flats that are like a big white desert. And I realized from the amazingly hospitable reception of the little old lady and her middle-aged daughter that run the residencial where I'm staying - it's actually in their family home - that it's a bit rundown, but that's just the way they live. So I'll give it a try.