C & C globetrotting around the world…

We crossed the border into Argentina and immediately felt the difference. We dropped to 1,500m altitude, so the temperature was much milder. It also started progressively being greener. On the way to Salta we saw interesting mountains with various colours (the Mountain of 7 Colours is around here). Salta, situated in the Lerma Valley at 1,152 meters above sea level is nicknamed Salta la Linda (“Salta the beautiful”). Within Argentina, it is the city which has preserved its colonial architecture the best. The city center features a number of impressive buildings dating back to the 18^th, 19th and early 20th centuries. The city’s museums exhibit a wide range of artifacts and art work from the native civilizations that flourished in the area (Salta is located in the Southernmost region of what was the Inca empire), as well as from the 16th century Spanish conquest and the colonial and post-colonial periods.

After a night on the train and the long journey, we slept in the next day. At lunch we went to an “asado” place. For 43 pesos ($10), we got a serving of grilled meat for one person. This ONE serving was actually enormous: 2 sausages, 2 pieces of steak, 2 small racks of beef ribs, 3 potatoes and salad. We ordered some wine to go with it and it was more than enough for both of us, obviously. We were both very happy to eat meat, after having lots of chicken on the world trip and rice with potatoes in Bolivia. Afterwards we walked around town, but it was pretty empty. We later found out that Argentinians take a very long siesta and come back out much later. We went to the main square and visited a really nice building. It’s nice to see real buildings, made of bricks and stones, not salt or adobe.

In the evening Christoph visited the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM), which exhibits the “Llullaillaco Children,” one of the most important archaeological discoveries of recent times. The three Inca children were found frozen at the peak of Mount Llullaillaco, 6,700 m above sea level, in 1999. Studies reveal that they lived more than 500 years ago, during the height of the Inca rule, a short time before the Spanish Conquest. The museum exhibits this wonderful discovery through a scientific perspective and in a didactic way to help us appreciate and further understand a culture that is still alive today. The expedition to research and extract these mummies was not easy at all due to the high altitude (the highest camp was at 6,600m) and severe weather conditions up there (sometimes -37°C). Not only did the Inca manage to excavate the tombs but they also built structures at more than six kilometers high using the stones they found on the mountain’s peak. The first discovery at the offering site at the summit was that of three llama figurines. The body of the Inca Boy was situated 50 cm bellow this place. On the same day, a few meters to the north, the researchers located the body of a young girl, today known as The Maiden. It is believed that these 3 children were sent to Cuzco to receive the blessing of the Inca king. Upon return, they were brought to this site and prepared for sacrifice. The museum was very interesting and Christoph enjoyed it a lot.

The next day after breakfast we met up with 2 Australian girls and went to San Lorenzo, a quaint little town outside Salta. The houses and domains around there are pretty impressive and the area is nice and green. We walked around there and had delicious ice cream before coming back to Salta. On a completely different subject: Matt Damon´s wife comes from Salta.