Cordoba to Salta – departure 17:40, arrival 06:30 (approx).
For the next leg of my journey I foolishly decided to save some money and travel Semi-Cama, as opposed to Executive-Cama. I would regret this decision, and all for the sake of £20.
The first thing that caught my eye, as I boarded the Cordoba to Salta bus, was the alarming number of children! After settling into my allocated seat a moment of panic struck as a lady with a screaming child approached, her eyes fixed on the seat next to me. She sat down and swiftly placed her young offspring, a girl, onto her lap. I naïvely expected the child to move to her own seat but there she remained, on her mothers lap, for the duration of the journey. A journey of some 12-hours. It was uncomfortable enough for me, goodness knows what it must have been like for the young girl and her mother.
The poor little girl continued to scream and it wasn’t long before more children joined in. Others were now using the isle as a children’s playground.
All this chaos thankfully came to an abrupt end when the on-board meal was served. However, once fuelled with carbs and fizzy pop the mayhem restarted at a new level.
It wasn’t long before the DVD player sprang into life. Normally the films are in English with Spanish subtitles – this means that the volume gets turned down. The films that were played for the next 5-hours were all in Spanish, with the volume set at quite an unnecessary level.
The ‘noise’ finally abated at around midnight. I tried to get some sleep but failed miserably.
Beautiful Salta:
Apparently Salta has experienced a huge surge in popularity as a backpacking destination, over the last few years. The setting is gorgeous, the hostels are attractive, the nightlife pumps and there’s plenty to do in and around town.
Salta Por Siempre is a delightful hostel, come hotel, with a lovely relaxing courtyard in which to catch up with much needed sleep.
I spent the next few days exploring the beauty of the various churches scattered around the downtown area. I also took a trip up Cerro (hill) San Bernardo, which offers spectacular views of Salta and the Lerma valley. You get there by using the teleférico (cable car).
Next stage Salta to San Pedro De Atacama.
