Las Salinas Grandes

      For more then a month now I have been planning a trip to Las Salinas Grandes. When I heard about the Salt Flats in Bolivia I started to wonder if there was another place like it, just closer, and such a place does exist! 190km northwest of the city Jujuy are Las Salinas Grades. After a lot of planning, I got a group of 9 AFS students/friends from Salta to go. We left Salta at 7am getting an early start. We were on a small bus with 10 other tourists. The trip started with the route of the Tren a las Nubez (Train to the Clouds). I was lucky to have already experienced the Train, but it was really nice to get a different perspective.

The material used to build this bridge was imported from Europe and is also the same material used to build the Eiffel Tower. It is part of the Train to the Clouds rail tour.

Through out the day we climbed up to altitudes as large as 4,200 meters above sea level which meant the higher we went, the colder it got, especially at the crack of dawn. Our second picture taking stop was breath taking and beautiful as well as freezing. 

Our next stop was in a little town called Santa Rosa de Tastil. It is one of the most important pre-Inca sites in the region, it has interesting ruins and a site museum. Nearly 5,000 stones scattered on a hill nearby bear petroglyphs that the indigenous population carved to convey religious and magical concepts. Some stones bear supplications of Inca gods, others just figures of animals and humans. In pre-Hispanic times, the town functioned as the main regional trade center.

We found petroglyphs painted on the side of the museum to show how important they are to this town and its history. 

Inside the museum we found a mummy that was discovered nearby...  

And more petroglyphs. These painting are copies of petroglyphs set on the stones on the nearby hill.

After exploring the museum we got back on the bus and headed to our next stop. Along the way we had a scenic route with snow cover mountains and views of volcanos. 

Next stop was a small city called San Antonio de los Cobres. The main claim to fame of this high-altitude city (3,774 meters above sea level) is being a stop on the Train to the Clouds. 

After our lunch in San Antonio de los Cobres, we started the rest of the drive to Las Salinas Grandes. The route from San Antonio de los Cobres to Las Salinas Grandes is about 3 hours on a dirt road, where we found herds of llama and vicuñas. Vicuñas are the worlds smallest camelids, they are wild and very wary of humans. Their fine-quality wool is priced in northern Argentina, and they were almost hunted into extinction. We are lucky to be able to see them now thanks to the help of breading farms that have kept their species alive all of these years.

Its hard to find them in the distance for their sandy color blends in to the landscape. 

And finally what we had all been waiting for, Las Salnas Grandes!!!!! :D

It's not snow, it's Salt!!!

 The white "soil" that adds a new color to the dry northern landscape is salt produced by the evaporation of saline water of volcanic origin. 

The long white plane allowed us to take creative pictures like this one. It makes someone kicking a group of people or holding a tiny person seam real.

We had a great group on this trip. As always, traveling with AFS students is amazing and super fun. [From top left, Sophie from Austria, Laura from Switzerland, Andy from Italy, ME, from bottom left, Tyler from USA, Valerie from Salta, Alicia from Germany, Ruben our Salta volunteer and friend who also helped organize the trip, and Tan from Thailand.]

After the Salt Flats we picked up National Route 52 (famously known as Cuesta de Lipan), which links Purmamarca with the Salinas Grandes salt flats. The route snakes it way up the mountain road which offers a spectacular view of the valley below and the salt flats in the distance. The road makes a climb up to 4,170 meters above sea level. 

 Last stop of the tour was Purmamarca. Home to the Cerro de los Siete Colores (hills which add purple, green, and many other colors to the landskape), makes this town one you can't miss. I love Purmamarca for its quietness, yet liveliness. Although our visit was brief, we were able to walk around the plaza for a few minutes gazing at the numerous stalls along the street that offer many local made crafts.

^A beautiful picture of the Argentinean flag in the plaza looked over by the multicolored hills in the background.

Our day started at 7am and we got back to Salta around 8:30pm. It was a long day but completely worth it. Trips like these remind me of what made me decide to do a year abroad in the first place. My first love has always been travel. I love seeing new places, being introduced to new cultures, and learning about the history and qualities that make every different place unique. I have been living in Argentina for 9 months now and it escapes me at how fast my time has gone by. I have less than 8 weeks left in Argentina and I am planning on making the most of every second I have left.

As always, Thank you for reading!

Iguazu Falls

          May 8th-13th I went on the trip I have been waiting for since I found out I was going to Argentina a year ago. I FINALLY got to go to Iguazú! :D Iguazú Falls is located where the Iguazú River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau. The numerous Islands that separate the long edge divide the falls into numerous waterfalls, varying between 60 meters and 82 meters high. Iguazú's greatest attraction is where about half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil's throat or La Garganta del Diablo. This famous string of waterfalls is also what marks the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Okay, so now that I have bored you all with my lovely background information on Iguazú, it's time I told you about MY experience :)

          We left Salta on Tuesday May 8th on a 12 hour bus ride to Resistencia which is in the province Chaco.

As you can see, the bus wasn't that bad. I actually was surprised it was comfortable and I was able to sleep. 

We arrived in Chaco at 6:30am. The other group of AFS students were on their own bus, but they did another trip to Salta and Jujuy before arriving in Resistencia at 9pm. Luckily we weren't the only ones who were there early. At 10am we left the terminal with a group of 12 kids and got a full tour of Resistencia. I actually loved Resistencia. It is a very small city therefore everyone knows everyone, the streets are clean, and there's a nice variety of stores. We went out to lunch and then spent about five hours in the plaza talking, telling jokes, and laughing. One of the reasons I love AFS so much is that we can always have fun, even if it means sitting in the plaza for five hours :)

At 9pm we headed back to the bus station to meet up with the entire group. All together we were 53! It was a magical moment to get to see so many people I met in August of last year in Buenos Aires and meet the new people who arrived in February. At 10pm it was time to get back on the bus and head to Iguazú for another 12 hour bus ride. We stopped for dinner and breakfast along the way. At around 10am we arrived at one of our sight seeing stops. Hardly anyone knew this was part of the trip, so it came as a wonderful surprise. We arrived at a cave that is actually in the process of being mined and has been mined for centuries. Im not sure what the stones are called in English so I'll just show you some pictures so you can get an idea. (My English is still laking LOL)

Thats my hand!!!

It's been said that the white stone gives positive energy. With your left hand on the stone and your right hand towards the sun, you can receive its that energy.

After our trip to the cave and gift shop of course, we hopped back on this bus to go to the hotel. We arrived and after 2 days on the road and as you can imagine it was nice to be able to relax and shower! Later we ate lunch and then it was onto the next excursion. At 3pm we went on the "Iguazu Jungle Tour". We were picked up at the hotel in a giant jeep.

Next, Zip-lining! I had never zip-lined before so I was pretty exited!!! (An understatement) 

^This was high up and the ladder was shaky, but once you got past this part, it was all fun from there.

Zip-line ready! :) Weee

Next stop on the Forest tour was a walk through the woods that ended at a small water fall. I was not expecting that we'd actually end up repelling down it!

It was a lot of fun and one thing I've learned about trips with AFS is that you never know what to expect. 

When we finally got back to the hotel we were dead! It was nice to be able to get 8 hours of sleep, in a bed and not on the bus. We woke up at 6am to get an early start at the falls. Sadly, when we woke up it was POURING rain outside! When we got to the park entrance it was still raining and I we were all really happy to be there, but also praying for the sun to come out. We had limited time to see everything so we got a tour guide right away and got on a train to take us to the famous Garganta del Diablo. After a long walk across the bridges we finally got a glimpse of what is said to be the 7th wonder of the world, and that it was!

An estimated 1,500 cubic meters of water per second plummet into the abyss.

On the train with my pancho! :( Sadly it's not that water proof.

Lunch gave us a wonderful escape from the rain and by the time we headed back outside the sun came out! It was a miracle!

Next was a Jeep ride to the shore of the River.

Crocodile!

Next we got to experience an excursion in a rubber boat that lets you see the magnificent water falls from below and feel the cool spray of their water.

We actually were able to get under the water falls in the boat! It was a crazy experience for sure :)

After a long walk up a trail along side of the falls, we got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel, after one more picture stop of course!

The Paraná river is the widest river in the world and the 14th-longest.

This was our last night together so we decided to stay up and celebrate. With one hour of sleep we all woke up at 5am and headed back to Recistencia where would all go our separate ways. I have to say I think the best part of this experience was being able to travel with 53 AFS students. We are all alike in one way or another which brings us close and lets us have fun! I have never laughed so much in my life! :) Those three days were some of the best days I've had in Argentina. It was sad to say goodbye because in this case we don't know when we will see each other again, but we will always remember that trip and the amazing people we met along the way. 

I got became instant best friends with another girl from the States. Allie's from Oregon and I swear, we are pretty much the same! I will miss her very much, but I will get to see her again at the orientation in Buenos Aires before we leave and when we fly home.

I forgot to write about the swim meet I had the week before the Iguazú trip, so I'm going to briefly tell you how it went. I had three races, the 100 free, 50 back, and 50 breast. My hard work finally paid off!

Bronze medals in 100 Free style and 50 breast stroke.

First place gold medal in 50 Back Stroke :) FINALLY!

3 races + 3 medals = hard work finally paying off :D

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