Last Day in Salta??? (Day 49)

Seems like the agriculture protest isn't quite over yet and the road blocks are still up. I just haven't realized because I haven't been trying to travel south for a bit. Apparently, Argentina is on Day 15 of the agriculture exports protest against the government- all major highways in the north are being locked down with road blocks. So, when I went to the bus terminal last night to catch my bus, I found out I was out of luck- no buses moving south. From what I can understand, this protest seems like a valid cause so I can't really be too annoyed- and a part of adventure of travelling :) So, I had to get another ticket for tonight and hope my luck is better. And back to Camping Municiapal Carlos Xamena for me!

It's been wicked hot here in Salta. To say this is supposed to be well into fall and the thermometer is around 32 degrees, I'm glad I wasn't here in the summer. It was another hot night which continued into this morning. Since I had already exhausted the in-city pedestrian scene and I haven't done much in the way of exercise for a few days, I found a little hike up the nearby Cerro San Bernando.

This is really just a hill (1454m) at the west end of the city, but it's lush green and in the shade! There's a little cabriolet that take tourists up top lookout over the city as well as the botanical garden. I was up for the sweaty walk up and it didn't disappoint. The whole path is beautifully laid out in stone steps so you don't even really notice the incline.

And at every switchback up the path is a religious shrine. Every single one :)

Despite being in the shade, it was still extremely hot and I was drenched by the time I got to the top. But, the path ends in a nice little park with a series of waterfalls and little walkways

various lookouts over the whole city of Salta (complete with cloud of humid haze).

At the top, wrapping around the cabriolet loading station is a botanical garden with lots of pretty flowers and native trees (although I had a hard time understanding what they were...)

and more of the pottery decorations that are all over the city.

I contemplated paying the $6 pesos to take the cabriolet back down but I had finally dried out a bit by this point and figured I might was well just walk back down. It was much faster and cooler on the walk down :)

A quick stop at the bus station to see what the status of bus departures today was didn't really get me any new info. The road blocks were still up and the company I had a ticket with wanted to wait until 4pm to make a decision on service cancellation. Nervous that I wouldn't get out again today, I trolled some of the other companies and found one that was commited to leaving tonight (although we may sit at the road block for a bit). Apparently, buses and cars are eventually being let through- transport trucks and export vehicles are being completely blocked. So, as insurance that I would (fingers crossed) be leaving Salta at some point tonight, I bought an additional ticket with another company. So, I'm fairly certain some bus will carry me away from Salta. At some point. Hopefully today.

The sky started looking a little ominous, so I went back to the campground to pack up my gear and clean myself up. A cool shower helped only for a short while- it's hard to tell if you actually get dry after the shower before you start sweating again. I opted to drop my backpack off at the baggage security at the bus terminal, in an attempt to stay a little less sweaty while I toured around for the rest of the day. Then I headed over to the Museo Provincial de Belles Artes, partially hoping for an air-conditioned reprieve but also to check out the Salta art scene.

I struck out on the air-conditioning. The museum is actually an open-air gallery with little, very poorly-light viewing rooms. But, there was a nice breeze blowing through and some really interesting works on display, so it was worth the trip (and support of the local arts).

Now I'm off to see which bus company wins the pleasure of my business! Don't get me wrong- I've really loved Salta. This is such a pedestrian-friendly city with so many parks, green spaces and pedestrian shopping malls. I'm really glad that I made the stop over and if I had to do it over again even with the unscheduled layovers, I'd gladly make the trip. But, I've got some Sierras in Cordoba that are calling me to climb before I head away from Argentina. So, with any luck tonight, my next post will come from Cordoba...at some point :)