The highlight of our trip to Salta was definitely the trip itself. We boarded an early bus in San Pedro and made our way to the back of the bus sitting very comfortably next to the bathrooms and a very nice German fellow. As we were pulling out of the station to begin our 8 hour passage through the Andes for one last time, Brent’s 7th sense kicked in and spotted some beers being passed around amongst a group of lively Chileans sitting in front of us. Jokingly he asked if they had anymore which was at first met with some awkward laughs and silence but sure enough a few moments later a beer was being passed down the line for Brent. This was the start of something truly magical. After Brent downed the first beer, he asked where they were from to see how they were handling the booze in conjunction with the altitude. They happened to be from the area and didn’t notice the altitude, but I think this was the turning point for them. After that, it was of utmost importance that both Brent and I were well served with a combination of cold local brews and Cuba Libres. As we got through the highest pass their stash was finally diminished, but lo! Brent had been carrying around a box of Chilean wine since La Serena, so this too was bled dry. After many good laughs and a short nap the Chileans gave us a bunch of food and apple juice as appreciation for contributing to the communal effort of making the ride (un)forgettable. 

Outside of our very eventful ride into Salta, our couple of days there were pretty tame. We ended up staying about 20 minutes outside of the city at the new Loki hostel.  They were running a special promotion where the rooms were free until the end of December and that was a little too good to pass up. It was set up like an estancia with a pool and a  huge bar so this ended up being a nice opportunity to relax, do some laundry, and enjoy not really having to do anything at all. We ventured into town for an afternoon and visited some of the beautiful, colorful churches, rode the gondola up to Cerro San Bernardo, and enjoyed smoothies in the park.

It was a nice couple of days but if I had to do it again, I would have been a bit more on the ball and found some friends to rent a car with to drive to Cafayate for a night. So I guess well put that on the list for next time. But for now, onto Tilcara. Our last stop in Argentina before Bolivia!