This morning we went on another bike ride with Vicky, an Essex girl at our hostel.
We finally found the ruins we were looking for yesterday which were nice. Afterwards we had lunch in town and then rode to some other ruins on the other side of town.
They were amazing. Really high up on the hill with fantastic views all around.
It was really hot and hard work over the bumpy unpaved roads but well worth it.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile 9th September 2011
This morning we booked a trip to the salt plains which ends in Uyuni in Bolivia. We leave on Monday.
Later we hired bikes and road about 15km out of town on the flattest, longest road I think I´ve ever seen. We were looking for some ruins until it finally dawned on us that we were going the wrong way!
It was a lovely ride though and was especially funny when David was chased by two dogs on the bike. It was so funny I almost fell off my bike. Oh and we both got sunburnt!
Later we hired bikes and road about 15km out of town on the flattest, longest road I think I´ve ever seen. We were looking for some ruins until it finally dawned on us that we were going the wrong way!
It was a lovely ride though and was especially funny when David was chased by two dogs on the bike. It was so funny I almost fell off my bike. Oh and we both got sunburnt!
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile 8th September 2011
Got up early this morning to make the bus trip over the Andes into Chile.
The mountains were just spectacular with lots of different colour layers in them so that some looked purple, some mauve, some turquoise, some yellow.
We got up to 4600m above sea level before starting to drop down to 2400m to San Pedro.
We arrived here at 5pm and it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Our hostel is nice and chilled and we love the town. It looks like something out of the wild west. All dust roads and very traditional.
It does have a perfect astroturf football pitch complete with floodlight though!
The mountains were just spectacular with lots of different colour layers in them so that some looked purple, some mauve, some turquoise, some yellow.
We got up to 4600m above sea level before starting to drop down to 2400m to San Pedro.
We arrived here at 5pm and it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Our hostel is nice and chilled and we love the town. It looks like something out of the wild west. All dust roads and very traditional.
It does have a perfect astroturf football pitch complete with floodlight though!
Salta, Argentina 6th September 2011
After a good night sleep in our hostel we went for another walk around town.
They have a lovely plaza here with a Cathedral and some museums. Its a very pretty town.
After a coffee in the plaza (do as the locals do!) we sent to the Archaeological Museum as they have a mummy exhibition there.
The mummies are all children who were buried alive as a sacrifice but were preserved by the cold air and arid conditions at the top of the mountain. They were drugged before being buried apparently, although I don´t suppose that was much compensation. And they were all from noble families. They are all eerily well preserved and really look like they´re asleep or something. Very interesting.
I don´t have any photos of them though as they are forbidden in the museum.
They have a lovely plaza here with a Cathedral and some museums. Its a very pretty town.
After a coffee in the plaza (do as the locals do!) we sent to the Archaeological Museum as they have a mummy exhibition there.
The mummies are all children who were buried alive as a sacrifice but were preserved by the cold air and arid conditions at the top of the mountain. They were drugged before being buried apparently, although I don´t suppose that was much compensation. And they were all from noble families. They are all eerily well preserved and really look like they´re asleep or something. Very interesting.
I don´t have any photos of them though as they are forbidden in the museum.
Salta, Argentina 5th September 2011
Arrived in Salta this morning and it seems very nice.
We´re up in the hills and the air is very clear after the smog of the cities.
This afternoon we caught the cable car up the hill to get some views of Salta. It´s a big place!
We´re up in the hills and the air is very clear after the smog of the cities.
This afternoon we caught the cable car up the hill to get some views of Salta. It´s a big place!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Cordoba, Argentina 2nd September 2011
Today we went to see the Jesuit Crypts which are underneath a big road junction near us. They were discovered when a telecoms company dug up the road to lay cables and found them below.
They were left undisturbed for years until a Cholera epidemic in the 1800´s when they were opened for the internment of the victims and then resealed until 1989.
They´ve been very sympathetically restored which is nice to see. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed so I can´t post any photos, sorry.
Oh and I got crapped on by pigeons today. Twice!
They were left undisturbed for years until a Cholera epidemic in the 1800´s when they were opened for the internment of the victims and then resealed until 1989.
They´ve been very sympathetically restored which is nice to see. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed so I can´t post any photos, sorry.
Oh and I got crapped on by pigeons today. Twice!
Cordoba, Argentina, 31st August 2011
Arrived in Cordoba after a 10 hour overnight bus journey which was actually pretty comfortable with recliner seats and a hot meal of roast chicken, mashed potatoes and veg, plus a ham roll, crispbreads, cheese, stuffing and tinned peaches (!?!) followed by a tot of whisky to help you sleep. Good eh?
Cordoba seems nice, a bit more chilled and not as crowded as BA. We are right on the market though so quite noisy, but we´re used to that by now.
Buenos Aires, Argentina 29th August 2011
After going to the bus station to buy our bus tickets to Cordoba (quite a mission), we decided on a trip to the zoo.
It was actually pretty good and was a nice way to while away the afternoon, although they did have lots of examples of huge, hairy, flying creepy crawlies that have scared the pants off me!
Buenos Aires, Argentina 28th August 2011
Today we went to the antiques market with is huge, and I mean huge! Streets and streets of stalls selling everything from old coke bottles to ponchos.
At the market they also had some great musicians playing classical spanish guitar and best of all, street tango dancers. They were fantastic and just what I had hoped to see.
Had a fab Choripan for lunch (sausage in a bagette to you and me) and then went to see the palace (the one with the famous balcony where Evita addressed the crowds).
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