Salta: Take Two: “Twice Day”

July 22, 2009

We awoke refreshed, with a fairly simple itinerary:

• MAAM (archaeology museum)
• Artisan’s market
• Get Tammy’s photos uploaded to a CD
• Pajcha, Museo de Arte Etnico Americano
• Peña (10 p.m.)

We were held up a bit with the changing of hostels and hit the MAAM with at least 100 other people. It was quite an unusual crowd for a museum with no special exhibits nor openings, so we decided to jump out to the Pajcha and return in the afternoon.

We arrived at the Pajcha, just as the Assistant Director, Diego, was closing for lunch. However, he was so delighted at our attempt to visit, he gave us a “sneak preview” of the first room and spent a good 10 minutes gushing about how much we would love the exhibition. Unfortunately, the museum wouldn’t re-open until 4 p.m.

Upon his recommendation, we passed through the nearby train station, then hit up Balcarce in search of lunch. The nexus of touristy nightlife was completely deserted and very nearly closed mid-day.

We settled on a bar serving pizzas and filled up before returning to the MAAM. Outrageously expensive by local standards at 30 pesos ($9) per person, the museum featured the findings from an Incan grave site and the best-preserved mummy I have ever seen. The expression on the boy’s face, his skin, all completely preserved.

They also showed another girl, in surprisingly good shape, given her history of being bought, sold, and finally willed to the museum after being kept in the basement of her previous owner.

Next up we went to take care of Tammy’s photos, however the shop was closed for siesta, so we continued on another 20 blocks to the artisan’s market. We bought some goodies—I got a pair of earrings for 7 pesos and a pair of alpaca socks with llamas on them for Martín. We also sampled homemade dulce de leche and these tiny, delicious cookies topped with a thin layer of dulce de leche.

We passed by the very bland Paseo de los Poetas (no poetry, just lists of names of poets) on our way back to the center. We identified some interesting architecture we had failed to notice the first few times we passed Calle Florida, and got Tammy’s photos successfully burned.

We returned to Pajcha with just enough time to zoom through the anthropologist’s private collection, with Diego steering us in his giddy excitement toward the highlights.

Our day wrapped up with dinner and a peña at the highly touted La Vieja Estación . The food was great; we drank too much wine, and greatly enjoyed the show. It was pricey and touristy, but fun.

Exploring Salta

July 20, 2009

Monday morning we breakfasted on our goat cheese and headed out to explore the city by daylight. We began on the Plaza 9 de Julio and visited the cathedral. We booked a day-trip to Cachi, dropped our laundry off to be cleaned, then visited the post office to mail postcards. Finally, it was time for lunch.

Lonely Planet recommended the Restaurante Portazuelo, offering a vague description (beautiful view, interesting dishes, Av. de Turista 1), which lead us to doubtfully climb a very large hill crisscrossed by unmarked streets that lead off our Lonely Planet maps.

Our faith was rewarded when we reached the Hotel Portazuelo, and followed the stairs to their classy restaurant. They offered a 45 peso ($12) Menu Ejecturivo, which was a fabulous deal, if not a bit more than I liked to spend on lunch.

We were served bread with a thick, creamy basil sauce and then Tammy and I split two of the appetizers—a veggie-filled Spanish-style tortilla and spinach crepes filled with corn. While this alone could have served as a sufficient lunch, my entree was spinach gnocchi with a delicious tomato-basil cream sauce. I ate way too much, but has the foresight to only order the fruit salad for dessert. And, then it was too sweet for me, and probably just as well that I left it behind. Service was impeccable, as was expected at a restaurant of this caliber. The view was nice, but wouldn’t have made up for the long, uphill walk on its own.

Heading out again, we stopped by the bus station to buy tickets for La Quiaca, then headed to the Museo Antropológico “De Leguizamón.” A fancy display in an architecturally designed showcase held the collection of Juan Martín Leguizamón. It was interesting, though not incredibly sophisticated.

We then passed by the Monumento al General Güemes on our way back downtown, a giant statue overlooking the city. Once downtown, we found the famously gaudy Iglesia y Convento San Francisco, an amazing event of colors on the outside, and an extravagance that rivaled the city’s cathedral on the interior.

The sister site, the Convento San Bernardo, was quite dull in contrast, consisting of plain white walls and old oak doors. As a working Carmelite nunnery, we were unable to enter.

We headed back to the plaza for some coffee, which quickly gobbled up the few hours before dinner.

I picked out a couple healthy restaurant options from the guidebook while we waited for our overwhelmed waiter to bring us the check.

Apparently, healthy food doesn’t do well in Salta, as both restaurants were no longer in existence. We then selected Mama Mias Trattoria, which proved to be an excellent find, aside from a lack of healthy options (not even a side salad!).

Our bread basket was accompanied by a little pizzeta, brushed with tomatoes and sprinkled with cheese.

I had a delicious homemade fettuccini with olive oil, tomatoes, and grilled red peppers and the Vasija Secreta cabernet from Cafayate. We were tired, so we went back to the hostel to catch up on email before our early morning trip to Cachi.

Just another day of adventure…

July 19, 2009

Sunday morning we woke up thirsty, but refreshed and headed to the Museo de la Vid y el Vino, to educate ourselves a bit before a morning of wine tasting. The museo had a collection of information, photographs, and old machinery relating to the development of wine in the region and throughout the world. At just 2 pesos ($0.50), it made for an interesting browse-through.

Picture of an artisan house across the street from the museo.

But, it was also a giant dark barn, full of old equipment and black and white photos, and eventually, enough was enough and it was time to return to some sunlight and fresh air. We headed to the Bodega Domingo Hermanos, and walked through a short tour followed by an even shorter tasting. We tried a sweet-sweet torrontes and a very average cabernet. We asked about their malbec, however they were unable to sample it, and at 45 pesos per bottle ($12), we figured it probably wasn’t worthwhile.

Next, we headed to Nanni, a less industrialized-feeling, but equally modern looking bodega. Instead of being a tour group of 6, we were about 30, as was the previous group on the tour half an hour earlier. And nearly everyone was leaving with bottles.

Disappointingly, the guide didn’t speak about the organic part of the wine-making process, however the torrontes we sampled was much more drinkable, followed by a too-light-and-fruity rosé which reminded me of watermelon. I ended up buying the malbec we’d had with dinner the night before, and Tammy bought a couple bottles as gifts for her family.

Finally, we were ready for lunch, which we’d carefully planned around buying more empanadas and cerveza, and having a picnic in the main plaza.

You know planning is a big no-no on vacations, right? On our hunt for beer, we stumbled upon the Restaurante Colorado, featuring artisanal beer and an ecclectic menu including a few Mexican plates, Thai chicken curry, French onion soup, and chicken cordon bleu. In my year in Argentina, I’d never seen anything like it!

We were hooked from the nachos, and settled down for some spicy food and quality beer. The owners were actually from Colorado (U.S) and quickly produced a bottle of hot sauce and a delicious homemade salsa to accompany the unspiced guacamole.

The beer, Me Echo la Burra was fabulous, and solidly alcoholic (8%). (It also cost about the same as our food and appetizers combined, adding an unsightly charge to our bill after we went for second round!)

We drunkenly wandered to the Museo de Arquelogía Calchaquí, which was inexplicably closed, and then stumbled back to a cafe on the plaza to sober up with a coffee and wait for our bus.

At 6:30 we boarded a little shuttle bus with a driver who seemed determined to break all speed records through the windy quebrada, deftly navigating curves and potholes, and making our 4 1/2 hour drive in just under 3 hours!

Finally, back to a big city! We checked into our hostel, Las Rejas, and then went off to explore Balcarce the main strip of bars, restaurants, and peñas. It was only 11, so most people were still having dinner, but we shared a beer in a quiet pub (Bonnie and Clyde’s), before calling it an early night. Our trip has strayed so far from its action-packed start. As we made our way back, we passed all the kids, just heading out.