Resistencia - Salta

Hello again,

So, blogs will either be coming very quickly now because I'm doing lots of exciting things that I want to tell you all about or they'll be rare because I'm so busy doing exciting things. Also, a question - as I am doing so many aforementioned exciting things, would you like to hear about all of them (long and will take multiple sittings, a cup of tea and a comfy chair to read each blog) or just hear about my most amusing stories in detail? For now I will try and offer a balance between the two.

Left Asuncion with my friend Raquel with whom I was staying for three weeks and went to Resistencia on a Sunday, which was a mistake because nothing happens on Sunday. Raquel had to go home on Sunday evening and there was nothing to do all day. Boo. On Monday I went for a wander and discovered that, just as the Lonely Planet and all the useless tourist information proclaims, Resistencia is the CITY OF SCULPTURES. Inside, outside, stone, wood, metal, pretty, ugly, weird, artistic, big, small, anything you want, as long as it's sculpted, you got it. So I saw a lot of sculptures. The best were in a little art gallery (see above photo of wire sculpture with tiny multicoloured town). I left for Salta on Monday evening and arrived early Tuesday morning.

I heart Salta. It is pretty and busy and has lots of tacky Catholic churches in it and a museum with (get this) THREE MUMMIFIED INCA CHILDREN that they keep chryogenically frozen like Super Inca Girl (and Boy) until they find the cure for being buried under six feet of Andean volcanic ash, at which point they will inject them with curing fluid and BRING THEM BACK TO LIFE. Wow. As you can see, I still haven't got to grips with the Spanish, and only got the gist of the helpful plaques that tell you all about what's going on in the museum. Mostly I stared a lot at the children, who were kinda gross in a really cool kinda way. Also I climbed a big hill, because we all know I love exercise and seek it out wherever I go. There were 1070 steps. Not as many as in Huangshan, but still quite a lot. At the top, JESUS looks down upon Salta and sees that it is good and allows it to continue existing. I fear for the day that JESUS decides that Salta is not, and does onto it like he did upon... Sodom and Gomorrah... and turn it into Salt-ahaha... So I saw the whole of Salta in all its glory, got beaten up the hill (as in, raced, not physically abused) by three old people. Shame.

Then I made friends, hoorah! International ones too. Andreas (NZ), Thomas (Austria), Olly (UK) and Martaaajaajan (weird Dutch - actually, 'weird' goes without saying as it is a synonym of 'Dutch'). We went for dinner and drank really good pinot noir.

Then. Today. I went for a really long walk round the Cabra Corral Dam. I wasn't expecting it to be so long. It was very cold to begin with and I wore all the clothes I own (exaggeration) and tucked my lower layers into my knickers (not exaggeration) and was still cold. The countryside on the way to the Dam was stunning and the reservoir itself was also beautiful. But the rock formations around the edge were the most incredible thing. So many different things in the space of 15km. See above photos (not photoshopped, all colours true to life). So on my walk, I saw: multicoloured rocks, intimidating cows that stared at me and dared me to be threatening (I walked as far away from them as possible, trying to exude apologeticness), my first llama! an eagle/unspecified bird of prey on a fence post and one that circled me for quite a long time waiting for me to die so it could pluck my eyes out to feed to its young, lots of cacti, a big awesome stick for which to make me walk better and like a real man, some dogs that barked WE WILL GIVE YOU RABIES at me (now that I'm getting better at Spanish, I could understand them), some horses, and a nice elderly couple who gave me a lift for the last 10km that I couldn't manage. Well. I could have done, but I was sunburnt by then and wanted a coke, so I flagged them down and told them I was dying of dehydration and they took pity on me. Then I napped in the sun, drank tea at a cafe, achieved zen with the lake, chatted to the locals (awesome Spanish being used) and then came home.

I got a bit snap happy, but some of the photos above are quite good and there are many more that look very similar to them, but at the time I thought they were all unique and different and would interest everyone who saw them. Bet you can't wait for me to come home and make you sit through every anecdote for every photo, hmmmm?

And that is all. Now Olly and I will go and get a glass of red wine. Much needed.

Lots of people have been asking to see more photos (what? bored with my textual ramblings?!) but it is annoying to get them on here so I have uploaded lots onto facebook. For those of you who do not have facebook, your granddaughters/daughters have it and will be happy to show you my photos.

Look forward to telling you all about my trip to the Calcaquì Valley, San Lorenzo and to the Salta Symphony Orchestra concert. Has anyone received post cards yet?