I had a great time in my first Argentinian city, Salta, in the North West of the country. I spent my time climbing the 1,070 steps (probably about 3,000 of my "shorty" paces) and 250 metres to the top of Cerro San Bernardo where some artisans, great views and religious statues and shrines awaited me, and wandering the pretty colonial streets. I was instantly struck by how rich Argentna is compared to the rest of my South American countries. Everyone dresses like theyre rolling in it, half of the cafes and restaurants are posh and there are even shops selling Gucci bags! Its still very affordable though, and Ive been picking up some delightful sweet treats and some out-of-this-world steaks to make the men among you buckle to your knees.
On my last day in Salta my reading was interrupted by a "Hello Miss Granville" from my English friend Nicky, and we spent the rest of the day together chilling in the Plaza and eating the best steak in the world, ever. It was huge, perfectly cooked, juicy, tasty, had not a milimitre of fat on it and the whole meal cost a tiny 3 pounds. Unfortunately we had booked buses for that night in opposite directions but we have hooked up again in Buenos Aires 5 days later. My bus took me to Resistencia, aka The City of Sculptures after the 300 or so works of art scattered around the pretty streets. Besides this there wasnt a lot else to see or do, the museums having all closed for renovations, and by now I was the only backpacker in sight, so I started a continuing habit of finding the perfect cup of coffee or tea and made a day trip to nearby Corrientes. Its much the same as Resistencia so I didnt hang around for long, but I met a sweet old man called Cesar who gave me a tour of his Museum of Artisans. He hardly speaks English and I hardly speak Spanish but we got along just fine, and he surprised me by asking if I was from Somerset! It turns out 2 other girls from the homeland had recently visited who he was keeping in touch with, and I have vowed to do the same.
The hole that is Santa Fe was my next stop but I quickly got the next bus to gorgeous Rosario, birth place of Che Guevara. I splashed out on a decent hotel (I was very much in need of cable at this point!) and spent a couple of days walking around the citys sights, drinking pots of tea and munching on medialunas (croissants to the less poetic amongst us). You may have heard a saying "Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Knight and dinner like a pauper"? The Argentinians choose to do it in reverse and I soon felt like I was causing offence by not complying and not having the staple medialuna for my breakfast!
Desperate for Nickys company again and some capital nightlife, I hot-wheeled it to Buenos Aires last night. The 80 platformed terminal welcomed me with open arms...that were reaching for and carried away your pink rucksack Mum! Luckily my shrill screaming and pounding feet were enough to make the guy drop it and run, and I am still in possession of all of my goods. He was working with a girl who was pretending to ask me a question while I put on my big bag, distracting my attention from my handbags on the floor. The irony is the rucksack contained a load of worthless crap and I ran away from my money, passport, plane tickets, camera and MP3 player which were in my other bag, but the girl had scarpered before she realised this and somebody honest was watching it for me. How is it that people who try to mug me always fail?!
Nicky and I went wandering around our boho district of San Telmo last night and her obsession with food is already having a bad influence on me. She talked me into having a steak sandwich despite my having already eaten (and were not talking a few slithers of meat between 2 slices of bread here, I mean a really massive whole marinaded steak bursting out of a fresh panini!) and is suggesting a tried and tested tiramisu for breakfast. I may have to forgoe the fried breakfast I have been craving and was going to ask for when I get home! Failing to find any Tango we sat with some artesans and their musical instruments in a Plaza drinking some fine Argentinian wine, and I may have promised to play Alis violin tonight at gathering number 2. Today we will probably go sight seeing and I am in desperate need of some nice new clothes. All of these self-confessed snobby Argentinians are making me feel scruffy!
The hole that is Santa Fe was my next stop but I quickly got the next bus to gorgeous Rosario, birth place of Che Guevara. I splashed out on a decent hotel (I was very much in need of cable at this point!) and spent a couple of days walking around the citys sights, drinking pots of tea and munching on medialunas (croissants to the less poetic amongst us). You may have heard a saying "Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Knight and dinner like a pauper"? The Argentinians choose to do it in reverse and I soon felt like I was causing offence by not complying and not having the staple medialuna for my breakfast!
Desperate for Nickys company again and some capital nightlife, I hot-wheeled it to Buenos Aires last night. The 80 platformed terminal welcomed me with open arms...that were reaching for and carried away your pink rucksack Mum! Luckily my shrill screaming and pounding feet were enough to make the guy drop it and run, and I am still in possession of all of my goods. He was working with a girl who was pretending to ask me a question while I put on my big bag, distracting my attention from my handbags on the floor. The irony is the rucksack contained a load of worthless crap and I ran away from my money, passport, plane tickets, camera and MP3 player which were in my other bag, but the girl had scarpered before she realised this and somebody honest was watching it for me. How is it that people who try to mug me always fail?!
Nicky and I went wandering around our boho district of San Telmo last night and her obsession with food is already having a bad influence on me. She talked me into having a steak sandwich despite my having already eaten (and were not talking a few slithers of meat between 2 slices of bread here, I mean a really massive whole marinaded steak bursting out of a fresh panini!) and is suggesting a tried and tested tiramisu for breakfast. I may have to forgoe the fried breakfast I have been craving and was going to ask for when I get home! Failing to find any Tango we sat with some artesans and their musical instruments in a Plaza drinking some fine Argentinian wine, and I may have promised to play Alis violin tonight at gathering number 2. Today we will probably go sight seeing and I am in desperate need of some nice new clothes. All of these self-confessed snobby Argentinians are making me feel scruffy!
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