Showing posts with label bus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bus. Show all posts

Monday, 5 March 2012

Purmamarca and the Salt Flats

From Salta the salt flats are only a short(Argentinean distances), but windy drive away. First we took the longest road out of Salta. It went through a forest and we stoped to look for SPIDERS! Apparently there were spider as big as a hand living in that forest. The spiders were not dangerous, but they could jump 1m up in the air. I am glad we didn't manage to spot any of them.


Chewing koka leaves are supposedly good to do if you want to avoid altitude sickness. As we had to drive through a pass at more than 4000 meter we had to try it:p

The home of the spider...

The windy road up to the flats

At 4170 meters!
 One could feel that the air was thin and dizziness was not far away...

First sight of the mountain with seven colours with Cecilie:)

What a coincidence and luck we were on the same tour and on the same bus=) 
We tried to take good pictures at the salt flats, but it was not easy. We were, or that is, Cecilie was just getting the hang of it when we had to leave. The excursion was good, but we all wanted more time at the flats instead of a long lunch, but I think food is too important for Argentineans for them to get the idea.




The mountain with seven colours in Purmamarca.
Instead of going back to Salta we jumped off the bus in Purmamarca (we got picked up the next day to go on an other excursion). First we had lunch with the rest of the group , then checked in at our "hostel" and then we hiked up the mountain with seven colours. Purmamarca was a cosy village with a relaxed atmosphere. If it wasn't for the hostel, that was only a bed in a hut, I would have loved to stay longer. The standard at the hostel was okay for one night, but it was very expensive considering the standard and that nothing, not even hot water nor toilet paper, was included. I had to go toilet paper hunting just before bed: not easy to find! But I did get to see the village by night. A whole crowd was gathered at the plaza and they were playing instruments and singing. I just wanted to join! I would really recommend anyone to stay in one of the small villages in Jujuy, it is a different experience than what one gets just stopping on the way to attractions. (
Beautiful colours in the valley behind the seven couloured mountain

A little bit of hiking:)

Why not bring a guitar to the top of the mountain? It was idyllic:)

Angela, who I traveled with and me looking rather tired

Making pita smells so good, but when we got there following the smell, they were sold out:(

What is that on the top of the mountain? Yes, it is a cross. As everywhere else.

Our hostel

All that was included
The next day we got up early and managed to do a short hike on the mountain opposite the seven coloured mountain before we got picked up and headed for new places:)

Purmamarca

A narrow path, but wide enough

Sunday, 29 January 2012

Argentina- first stop Puerto Iguazu

After travelling for a long time we finally arrived to Buenos Aires(BA). Instead of doing as the rest of my class: going to the beach in Argentina, I decided to explore Argentina on my own. I decided to start with Iguazu falls. It was only an 18 hr busride away. Luckily I got help from a very kind lady I met on the flight to BA with both getting to the bus station, buying the ticket and lots of tips about traveling in Argentina. For those of you who does not know, I do not know a lot of Spanish.

The buses in Argentina are nothing like any buses I've been on before. There different kind of classes and they are all great. The classes are semi-cama, cama and super-cama. The more you pay the more your seat can be like a bed. Food and drinks are included and depending on the company sometimes there is wine and bingo=) There is always movies showing, but sometimes in Spanish.

After getting a good nights sleep for almost the whole ride it was amazing to get out of the bus and be outside for the first time in days! Lovely and hot. A girl I met on the bus, Mai, were also looking for a hostel and together we found Bambu mini. The hostel was nice, and the staff was amazing! Friendly and very helpfull:) It is a hostel I would reccomend anyone. It didn't have a pool though, but the sister hostel had one we could use:)

I spent 3 days at the waterfalls. The first day I only managed to see the Devils Throat, but on the second I saw everything else on the Argentinean side. I had good company on the trip with Mai and her friend Augustin. The waterfall is amazing; the sound, the amount of water, the power of the water, just everything. Being high season the park was full of tourists and one had to spend a lot of time quing to get good photoes and it wasn't possible to walk very fast. On top of that is was very warm! That is something I like=)
An other thing I noticed at Iguazu was that everyone was carrying around with a thermos and a matching cup with a straw in it. I understood that this was the famous mate I had heard about. I knew this was a big part of there culture, but I hadn't got a clue it was this big!

One of the best things of the park was actually a 3,5 km walk to a tiny waterfall with a natural pool underneath where one could go swimming. Very idyllic. AND on the way down the trail you can see lots of animals. The most exciting thing I got to see was monkeys=) They are so cute and it so much fun to watch them jump from tree to tree.

The third day I went on a tour to the brazilian side of the waterfall, dam Taipu and to Paraguay. I almost lost my tour that day: I shared a room with two aussies and a guy from Wales, of course it ended in a night out. It didn't help that Augustin also seemed to be a party person=) And so the reseptionist had to wake me up when the tourbus arrived to pick me up. Luckily I was ready to go in no time=)

Dam Taipu was amazing to visit for a nerd like me! It was so huge and produces so much energy it is almost difficult to imagine. This is the worlds largest dam, or second largest, I think there is an argument between this dam and a dam in China. In Paraguay I was told to not go anywhere but the main street because that would be dangerouse. The guide didn't speak any English so I am very thankfull for meeting Eduardo on the tour. He was a mexican who knew both Spanish and English and translated all I needed to know on the tour. Paraguay is the place to buy electronics very very cheap!

Photoes from my first couple of days in Argentina=)

The devils throat

Ran into Anne and Cecilie from my class and Annes boyfriend - a nice surprise:)

A powerful shower...

The hungry and annoying animals...

Slow trains, walking was faster





Mai was good company when I visited the park


Augustin and his butterfly


What kind of meat do you want? And how do you want it? medium?

A roundabout in Paraguay:S

The main street 

the most important shop to visit!

Dam Taipu

Happy!