Anyways, it certainly was a relief to get to Salta. As per my usual, a lot of my time in Salta was spent wandering around. What really struck me about Salta was the amount of green space it has, lots of public parks (or rather one incredibly large one) and also its very beautiful main square. Lots of nice restaurants with streetside seating, perfect for watching the world go by. Salta also has a teleferico which takes people up to the top of a mountain for views over the city. To be perfectly honest, Salta is not a very beautiful city from above (compared to other South American cities I have seen from mountain tops), but still a nice relaxing early morning activity.
Salta was also my first experience with Argentine steak. On the bus ride from hell mentioned above, I was seated next to an Australian girl who invited me to a late night (by American standards-perfectly normal by Argentine standards) Argentine steak and wine feast. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so don´t have any pictures, but let me assure you, I have never seen a bigger piece of meat in my life, at least not one served to a person on a plate. The plate, which had nothing on it but the meat, was well over 12 inches long and six inches wide and the meat was spilling over the sides and dripping juice onto the table. Not only was it huge, but it tasted absolutely delicious. My Aussie counterpart couldn´t stop giggling over my amazement with the piece of meat that was in front of me. Anyways, we topped our steak off with a nice bottle of Malbec, a type of red wine that is very popular in Argentina. Absolutely delicious and a very good complement to the steak. Despite stuffing myself to the point of feeling sick, I can´t wait for more Argentine steak and wine nights.
After a couple days hanging out in Salta, I went a few hours south to Tucumán, Argentina. Normally, I probably would have skipped Tucumán in favor of spending more time in other locations. I decided to include Tucumán in my itinerary because I spent a good part of a week hanging out with an Argentine from Tucumán (Martín) while in Lima and he insisted that I stop and visit when I eventually made my way through Argentina. Although not too strong on tourist sites, it I am definitely glad I stopped here. In fact it was kind of nice to not have any need to go see the requisite sites. Tucumán is full of lots of neat cafes, restaurants and bars, as well as all kinds of high end stores.
The two highlights of my time with Martín in Tucumán were eating at his parents house (home cooked meals made by others are so amazing after a long time on the road) and a visit to the local soccer match. I got to see San Martín de Tucumán play K.A.I. Both teams are in the second tier level of soccer, but still put on a great show. As expected, the crowd was really into the game, especially because a victory would put them in first place in the league. After a rather boring first half, San Martín put on a show in the second half and won 4-0. With that win, it means that the home team has won every single soccer game I have ever been to. Who wants me to come to their game next?
After a couple days in Tucumán it was time to head further south to Córdoba to visit a family friend. A few years back, my mother won a Fulbright grant from the U.S. government to participate in a educator exchange program. My mother went to Argentina and stayed with an elementary school principal in Córdoba and then that same woman came to stay with my mother in Michigan for a few weeks. Anyways, upon hearing that I was coming to Argentina, Miriam invited me to her home to visit for a few days. Once again, the home cooked meals and hospitality were one of the primary highlights, but I was also able to get out and explore Córdoba a bit. Much larger than any other Argentine city I had visited up to that point, Córdoba had a ton going on. There are lots of universities there and the population seems to be rather young (probably because I was hanging out in the center near several large universities).
One day I decided to take a day trip out of Córdoba to visit a couple of small towns. The first town visited was Villa General Belgrano, a German settlement famous for its annual Oktoberfest situation. While I missed the Oktoberfest, it was still an interesting city, although much too touristy for me. Probably the highlight of the city was eating goulash at a German restaurant and having a proper dark beer that was made on-site (oh how I miss microbrews). Besides that, Villa General Belgrano didn´t quite do it for me so it was on to Alta Gracia, the city where Ernesto ¨Che¨Guevara lived for much of his youth. Basically it is just his old home with lots of photos of him throughout his life and a few things that he owned. There was also a room dedicated to the 2006 visit of the museum by Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Some former colleagues of mine used to joke that I was coming to South America to work for Hugo Chavez, but this was probably the closest I ever got to that. Although I am left leaning, I don´t quite lean that far left.
A nice museum, but a little small and lacking in true museum pieces, but certainly glad I went and glad I could escape the big city for a day.
Next stop Tupungato, Argentina.
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