If you are visiting the north of Argentina, the beautiful town of Salta should be on your list. Along with its animated night life and beautiful surroundings, the city is also home to the museo de Arqueologica de Alta Montaña, that may worth the trip to Salta itself. This really interesting yet creepy museum conserves a singular collection: the mummies of 3 inca kids.
Category: South America
Meat, music and dancing: welcome to Argentina!
This was everything like the cliche of the Argentinian night we had in mind. After 11h of bus in stunning landscapes, with reach Salta, our first stop in Argentina. Exhausted and starving (the bus company only provided us with a small sandwich), we headed off for our first Argentinian dinner, craving for meat.
A night in a peña, in Salta
In Salta, all the places to go out are concentrated in the same area. We picked a busy restaurant and got sitted at a small table in front of the stage. We had just ordered than a man dressed in traditionnal costume went on stage and introduced a groupe of dancers. While zipping our Malbec (6 euros for a 1/2 bottle), we assisted astonished, to a serie of local and national dances based on a mix of quick steps similar to tap dance and movements of puffy skirts that remind me of flamenco. We were in one of the many peñas of Salta, where you enjoy a nice dinner while being entertained with folkloric dances and music.
The silver of Potosi – Hier kommt die Sonne
Potosi -located at 4067m- is one of the highest cities in the world, and for 400 years from the 16th century, it was also the most populated city in the world. At its peak around 150 000 people lived there, twice as much as in Paris at the same period of time. But Potosi´s history is not a happy one. We had an opportunity to visit the silver mines and get a glimpse on how the Potosi miner makes his way through the tunnels to find the precious metal, silver.
Is going to the mine something for you?
It was not planned, it should have never happened. Already at travel planning stage, when Adnan expressed his desire to visit the mine of Potosi, the biggest silver mine in the world, I answer “No problem, I will find something else to do.” Maybe because I grew up in the north of France, a former mining area, I have always associated mines with danger. The idea of going in a dark, and narrow space for a couple of hours was nothing that I felt relaxed about.
Cerro Rico (in Potosi, Bolivia), the biggest silver mine in the world
The road Potosi – Uyuni: a great day on the road
It didn´t started that well. As often in Bolivia, a man in a suit started his long and loud sales speech for some miraculous medecine as soon as the bus started rolling.
But as soon as we got out of town (and got rid of the sales guy by the same occasion), we realized the journey Potosi – Uyuni will be among the most pleasant.
Coroico: when it´s time to unplug
When you spent several days trekking, biking, kayaking or on other active explorations, comes a time to slow down and take a day off. Treating yourself with a couple of nights in a cozy hostel with pool and a great view. is just the perfect way to recover.
Exhausted after our conquest of Huayna Potosi (6088m), we found ourselves taking it easy in the touristic town of Coroico, just 3h of La Paz. The weather is warm and the views splendid, here it´s so simple to indulge yourself in being lazy and regain energy for your next adventures.
In Coroico, Little Big Explorations recommands:
We loved the hostel El Cafetel with its great pool over looking the valley and the Cordillera Real. Located 10min out of town, it´s an oasis of tranquility. The rooms are basic but clean and cozy and the on site resturant serves a delicious breakfast. (Double room with shared bathroom B$100).
Best of all: admiring Huayna Potosi at the sunset (summit on the left)
Joining the 6000 club
People say you can´t describe this feeling. They are right. Few things in the world compete with the sensation of accomplishment of conquering a summit. After 5 intense hours of climbing, on Monday the 7th of October at 6.30am, I conquered Huyana Potosi, 6088m (Bolivia). I am on the top of the world. And I just caught the summit bug.
100 days on the road… and these things we didn´t tell
Today is our 100th day on the road! Already more than 3 months that we started this amazing trip in Cartagena (Colombia), full of hopes and dreams. To celebrate this milestone, we are sharing a few “not that glorious” facts about the trip so far.
Is Machu Picchu really worth the hype?
Few sites convey as much hype and expectations as Machu Picchu. The site, one of the new 7 wonders of the world, brings every year hundreds of thousands of tourists curious to explore the most vast testimony of the inca civilization and one of the world best known archeologic site. But is Machu Picchu worth the hype?
The salineras of Maras, an other inca heritage site you should visit
There is more than Machu Picchu as Inca ruins you can visit in Peru! Just 40km north of Cusco, in the middle of the Sacred Valley, lies the Salineras de Maras, another demonstration of the Incas’ agricultural and engineering skills. For thousands of years, locals have harvested the salt of a mountain stream via traditionnal evaporation method on 3000 salt pools.
