After umming and arhhing about how much time to spend in Argentina, due to hearing about how expensive it is, we decided to do away with our worries of our budget and head in to enjoy one of our most anticipate countries of the trip. The boarder crossing was quite simple yet slow on the Bolivian side, as expected, and after a quick taxi to the bus station we had our overnight bus tickets to Salta, which were much cheaper then we anticipated. We had a few hours to kill before leaving, so we headed up to the bus terminal cafe to wait, after pursing the menu we couldn't believe it when a 1/4 L wine cost less then a small bottle of water (probably not the best wine but still hard to resist). The bus ride was cold, long and extremely irritating as we were marched off the bus for a superficial bag search while standing on the side of the road. However, after finally arriving in Salta at 5am and getting a few hours sleep (on Ryan's part) we were pleasantly surprised when we went out in the daylight. Salta is a beautiful Spanish influenced city, with 18th century streets, friendly people, fine foods and wines and definitely very different from everywhere we have been in South America so far.
As Argentina is famous for steaks and red wine we felt that we better get stuck into the culture quickly and after some research we headed straight to La Candelaria Parilla, one of the highest rates steak houses in Salta. We felt a little backpackerish when we arrived at this clearly upmarket restaurant (considering the price and time of day we assumed it would be casual) in thongs, but hiking boots wouldn't have fit in either. We quickly dismissed any doubts we had as we looked at the menu and were serve a huge complementary basket of fresh bread, dips and plate of pickles. With long months of eating smallish meals we felt that tackling the all you can eat BBQ might be a little too much so we selected off the al a carte menu. We settled with beef ribs, a mixed plate (feeling adventurous) containing sweet breads, intestines, blood sausage and chorizo and a litre of the local 'Salta' beer as it seemed a little too early for a bottle of red wine (no by the glass options). The service was very friendly and we happily relaxed while tucking into our complimentary snacks waiting for the main event.
The waiter then brought out our meats and presented us with our wooden boards to eat from, and it was amazing. The ribs were perfectly cooked with delicious flavor and our mixed grill was surprisingly tasty too, with crispy sweetbreads and intestines and flavorsome sausages served with lemon. The beer was a perfect way to wash down the meal and we left feeling content, all for $34.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets, admiring beautiful cathedrals and stopping in at the MAAM museum as everything was close 1 - 4:30pm for siesta. The MAAM museum while small, was probably the most interesting museum we have been to so far as it house three frozen Inca children (sacrifices) that were extremely well preserved (far better then those in Arequipa) as well as some beautiful artifacts that were buried with the children. We also were very happy when we saw that here in Argentina the offer significant student discounts, so we were able to get in for $2 instead of the usual $8!
After a great day in Salta we heading to the local supermarket too pick up something for dinner. After selecting ingredients for tortellini and fresh fruit we thought it was high time to try the local wines, so we selected a nice looking Malbec. Back at our hostel we prepared a lovely dinner and relaxed with our wine while chatting to a friendly Australian couple heading up to Bolivia from Patagonia. Their stories made us a little jealous about not having enough time to make it there but we keep telling ourselves - next time.
Overall we are loving Argentina so far, the food and wine is amazing and reasonably priced and Salta as a city is beautiful, we can only hope that our next stop in Cafayate full of nice surprises like Salta.
- Louise -
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