Pumpernickel on Tour   … in South America

Due to non-existent Wi-Fi and flaky internet availability in the places we stay, I’m falling more and more behind with keeping you up-to-date on a daily basis. Therefore we’ve allowed ourselves a rest day today and I will give you just a brief overview of our recent adventures.

Tuesday 9 September – Resistencia to Salta, Argentina

We sleep surprisingly well in our modest chamber, head back to the terminal to buy tickets for our onward journey and then take the local bus into town to find a nice little café and have some breakfast.

In the end we spend five pleasant hours in the Heladeria (ice café) Luigi being pampered by the friendly waitresses with café con leche, freshly pressed orange juice and delicious pastries. Apart from indulging ourselves in local delicacies we even get some work done: editing photos, writing our journals and another blog post and sending emails to the loved ones at home.

When the electricity fails (a common occurrence in this part of Argentina), we go for a stroll through the city of the sculptures, as Resistencia is dubbed for its many pieces of art, all exhibited in public places for everyone to enjoy.

We return to the terminal with plenty of time to spare and sit on the terrace watching the world go by until our bus to Salta arrives. It’s almost dark when we set off, so we wouldn’t have seen a lot of the Argentinean Chaco – had it not been for the brightly shining moon.

Although the bus stops often, we still get a good night’s sleep and arrive relatively refreshed in Salta.

Wednesday 10 September – Salta, Argentina

From the terminal it is only a short stroll to the first of the accommodation options I have in mind and Bingo! – we get the most wonderful room of the whole journey so far at the excellent Hotel del Antiguo Convento. It is also the most expensive but I can negotiate a 20% discount and the facilities, the quality of the fittings and the helpfulness of the staff are worth every peso.

Johannes could happily stay here for two weeks… But we have a loop to finish. After settling in we head into the centre of Salta to ask at the tourist office what we should see.

Through the park along the Avenida San Martín we walk to the cable car that takes us up to the summit of the Cerro San Bernado, where we have a splendid view over Salta – before descending via the 1021 stone steps back into town.

We briefly contemplate visiting the village of San Lorenzo, as recommended by the friendly señora at the tourist office, but decide that we’d had enough excitement for the day and return to the Old Convent Hotel. We only leave to have dinner at the Corredor de las Empanadas next door – also well worth a try when you are in the area.

Well, after a day in Salta we can say that everyone we have spoken to about Argentina hasn’t promised too much…