Exploring Salta

Hello all!

Feeling a lot better today having had a day of walking around and exercise. There was an option today to go on an all day wine tour. Even though it sounded amazing (four wineries and a beautiful valley) it involved five more hours in the car which after yesterday I just couldn't face! I also wanted to see Salta. 

So this morning Rach, Courtney and five of the others went wine tasting. But I met Anthony, Sarah, Seraina, Molly, Michelle and Rodrigo for brekky. There was a grasshopper on the table!!

Sarah, Seraina, Anthony and I set off for the day. Firstly we went to the main square where there was a parade and presentation on, apparently it's the birthday of the founder of the city! We stood and watched this for a while. Apologies for photo quality from here on in. For some reason the light sensor has now broken on my new camera, so photos with lights or the sun in don't turn out too well. Didn't even drop this one! Gonna tough it out until London and then maybe try and get it repaired, see how we go. 

After the parade we carried on walking to Parque San Martin, where we had fun on some gym equipment and had a look in some markets (got my magnet - an empanada!) and the nearby lagoon. Then we queued for the cable car. In the queue I was reading the others my blog from yesterday when an English woman leaned over laughing and said 'every word is true - well done!' regarding the border crossing haha. 

The views were nice on the way up, and at the top we walked around enjoying the views and the waterfalls. Then we descended via the Salta version of the '1000 steps'. It was really nice and leafy! Not as nice as the 1000 steps at home though. 

Once at the bottom we walked back to the main square. Boy was it hot today! For my remaining three weeks in South America everywhere we go is going to be this hot. Pumping out the sunscreen at the moment! But it hasn't stopped me getting a ridiculous singlet tan haha. 

We then ran into Kate, Michelle, Ric and Molly having lunch in the main square. So we joined them. I had four small empanadas and a cheese sandwich which was amaaaaazing! Best since home. Then I shared a litre of sangria with Sarah, Seraina and Anthony. I think it was the best sangria I've ever had!!

Our next stop was to the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montaña (the museum of archaeology of the old mountains). This was so interesting! The museum was all about the discovery of three mummies in a volcano 400km from here. In ancient Hispanic cultures especially the Inca times, nature was sacred and mountains were used as shrines to Mother Earth, and animal and human sacrifices were made in these shrines. Apparently there are 200 such shrines that have been located in the Andes and 50 of them are in the Salta region. Llullaillaco, an extinct volcano, is the highest peak in the area at 6739m above sea level. In the 1980s remains were found, and in 1999 a scientific expedition began to recover the remains so that we could learn from them and preserve them. The remains that were located were of three children, as well as ceramics and other items beside them. 

In Inca times (1400-1500 approx) an ancient ritual existed called Capacious or Capac Hucha meaning 'Royal Obligation'. This ceremony was to worship the gods or for special occasions such as the death of an Incan ruler. One or more children were chosen for their beauty and physical perfection, often times the child of a ruler or noble was chosen and two of the children were 'married' before the ceremony in order to unite far away communities through these marriages. The children were then usually taken to a city or community, walked around the square and then given chicha (the peppercorn wine I tried in Peru). Then when the wine made them sleepy they would be buried in their best clothes as a sacrifice. In this way the Incas believed health and prosperity would be their reward as a result, give the volcanoes a sacrifice and be rewarded with no eruptions, no drought, more produce and crops etc. 

The four of us found this quite disturbing, but at the same time you have to remember the thinking was very different back then. What we found ourselves wondering was how the parents and family of the chosen children felt. Were they proud? Horrified? Hard to imagine really. 

Anyway, the museum focused on the expedition that led to the Llullaillaco children being discovered. The three children that were discovered were 'The maiden' approx 15 years old, 'The boy' approx 7 years old and 'The girl of lightning' approx 6 years old. The girl of lightning was the one on display (they rotate them, only one at a time) in a very refrigerated room and she's so named because over the years scientists believe lightning burnt part of her face. 

After seeing the mummy the museum had a few short videos about how the mummies were recovered and the processes used. We also got to see another mummy called 'The Queen of the Hill' who was illegally exhumed in the 1920s and only recently recovered. You can definitely see the preservation difference makes. 

Afterwards we got an ice cream. I ordered mine in Spanish! "Hola, una dos sabot por favor. Limon y maracuya" - woo!

Now I've just been chilling out in the room. Rachel and the others will return soon and we are all going out for dinner. Then tomorrow we fly to Buenos Aires!!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox