Cordoba and Salta

By late morning of the day we reached Cordoba, we were out and about hitting up as many museums as possible! The city is home to many, and they are generally of excellent quality. Additionally, the "Manzana Jesuita" or Jesuit quarter, is home to many beautiful and impressive buildings ranging from churches to school and university buildings. One of the countries most important university is in Cordoba, and the student population brings art, science and culture to life in the city. We visited many student exhibitions during our time there, and that first afternoon we checked out the fine art museum housed in an old palace, as well as the contemporary art museum on the same square. The latter had some particularly interesting exhibitions, my favourite being a photography exhibition of frozen flowers from the region. 

The next day, Tanya fulfilled one of her dreams: she jumped out of a plane at 3000m! I'm so happy for her, as I know that this was something she really wanted to do on this trip. She has a video of the jump, which I cannot wait to see, and came back looking super happy! I personally have no desire to try this particular adrenalin rush (I suffer from a fear induced by watching a TV programme which followed a storyline involving a parachuting accident!), therefore I amused myself taking in another couple of museums that morning. I learnt about the history of the city in the Municipal Building's museum, and took some (hopefully) pretty photos of the cathedral in the sunshine. I also visited the "Museo de la Memoria" a chilling museum which chronicles the arrests made by the secret police, the D2, during the "Dirty War" in the 1970's. It was very well done, and indeed I returned in the afternoon in order for Tanya to visit it too. A couple of final art museums later, we rounded off the day lying in the sunshine in the park. 

Having satisfied our hunger for museums, we jumped on a bus to the nearby town of Carlos Paz for our final day in the region. We got some good exercise in there by climbing to the top of a hill over looking the city. All along the pathway up, the story of Jesus carrying the cross is told in stages ending with a huge cross at the top of the hill. We had a picnic lunch at the top, making the most of the incredible view of the town and the river. 

We spent the rest of the day walking down by the river side, which slowly turns into a lake. The day was very windy and we enjoyed watching the dinghies, windsurfers and kite surfers out on the water. After a well deserved ice cream, it was time to get back to the city and catch our bus heading for our next stop.  

Salta is in the north of the county, not far off the Bolivian border. There are perceivable differences between the people and culture of the north and the south. For example, many of the people, understandably, bear a stronge resemblance to those from Bolivia and we were once again surrounded by Coca leaf sellers and stalls laden with alpaca goods. 

The weather on our first day in the city was blissful. We quickly changed into shorts and tshirts, and after a tasty lunch in the sun on the square, we hiked up to the town's mirador for the excellent view over the city. We spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in the heat at the top of the hill, finally getting the sunshine we have been craving for some time now! 

The next day we were picked up at 10 o'clock by a gaucho who drove us out to a ranch outside of the city for a riding tour we had organised the day before. The horses were rounded up and tacked up when we arrived, and I took the oppurtunity to ask about the local tack,particularly the saddles. Although I have ridden in South American saddles before, I have never had a chance before to properly see how they are made and used, and was very interested. We spent the morning riding through the dry, mountain region, which, our guide explained, is green and fertile during the summer, but during the winter they have little grass to speak of. The horses were a little on the thin side, which I put down to this vast difference in precipitation between the seasons. During the summer, they put on plenty of weight on the lush grass, which sees them through the harsh winter. When I asked, it was explained that the horses are corralled during the day but roam freely at night, and they were clearly well cared for and fed with what was available. 

We finished the ride through the plains at the foot of the hills, where we even had a few races! After all the rides we have been on on this trip, Tanya is getting very good! She rises perfectly to the trot and has excellent balance. I have a couple of videos of the races (one of which I think captures the moment when my horse took advantage of my preoccupation with the video to crash through some trees... I always get the silly ones!). The loser was supposed to buy all the drinks for the winner, but I think the guide decided to drop that idea after what would have been a photo finish between me and him...!

The tour was rounded off with a great barbecue, complete with salad and potatoes and, of course, lots of red wine from Salta. There were four playful kittens on the ranch which begged for ever scrap we left. It was a lovely end to the tour, only to be completed by a gorgeous Italian ice cream when we returned to Salta. 

We timed our stay in Salta perfectly as, having enjoyed two days of perfect sunshine, the following day the clouds hung low over the city and the temperature dropped radically. We therefore visited the churches the city has to offer, including a beautiful one painted sky blue and pink. It was then on to the museums which included the contemporary art musem, which houses some interesting exhibits mostly by South American artists, and the Musuem of the High Mountains. The second museum was very well presented displays including its highlight: three mummies of Incan child sacrifices discovered and excavated from the Llullaillaco Volcano, which stands at 6739m. They are excellently preserved, and although only one is displayed at any one time, the explanations of the sacrifices and the displays of the objects buried with them fully make up for it. During our visit the "lightening girl" was on display. She was only about six years old when she was chosen to make a pilgrimage to Cuzco and symbolically "marry" the son of another important family from a different region within the Incan empire, before travelling back to her region and being drugged and buried alive at the summit of the volcano. These sacrifices aimed to united families and regions, as well as appease "Mama Huaca" or Mother Earth.    Her name comes from the discolouring on her face from a lightning strike which occurred at some point during the 500 years she lay in her tomb. 

As the day drew to an end, we once again packed up our bags, which really do seem to be getting heavier and heavier, and made our way to the bus station, trying to mentally prepare for the next 24.5 hours which we had to spend on buses across most of the country's length to Peurto Iguazu. The beauty of the falls which awaited us there made the long hours bearable, and when we arrived we checked quickly into a hostel to get ready to visit them the next day. Keep an eye out for the next post to see how we got on! 

Lots of love, 

Emma