Salta

Today we awoke to a mysterious noise, I had forgotten to turn off my alarm and I couldn't find it in the dark, as it was at the bottom of my bag in a random zipped pocket (I actually still don't know where it is...). Anyway after a short while in our bunk beds we decided to get up and face the day. It was cold and overcast today so we bundled up and started out to find a coffee. Before we arrived downtown we came across an enormous church decorated in pastel pinks and blues, like a giant birthday cake. We went inside, expecting something horrible gaudy, and instead came across the most beautiful interior, all painted in rich reds and deep blues, with gold inlay and intricately tiled floors, crystal chandeliers and high domed ceilings. I took so many picures I filled my memory card! Then we headed downtown for coffee and after walked around the town square and ran into the modern art museum. On display were the latest winners of a competition for I guess new artists, as well as a phtography exhibit that Amanda has a book of, so she was really excited to see the photos up close in print. Well worth the 2 peso entrance fee! Then we saw another big church, the exterior all red and yellow. Finally we headed to get bus tickets to our next destination, Cachi, and our return to Buenos Aires. We headed then to our hostel to unload our stuff from the morning and look up where to go for lunch. On the way we crossed a park and a dog sort of adopted us. He followed us for quite a while, then trotted ahead and disappeared. As we rounded the corner we couldn't believe our eyes, there he was on the doorstep of our hostel waiting for us! We tried to walk past him but he pushed his way into the hostel and I think was ready to move right in, if we hadn't gently put him back out! Cheeky! After that we decided to grab lunch and by luck we happened upon the most charming little bistro, where we had a leisurely, super-tasty lunch. Then we decided to go up the Transferico, (Nic says it's "Transferrico!" with two thumbs up!) a gondola which takes you up to the top of the hill and allowed us overlooks of the whole city. It was really beautiful, if a bit scary on the way up, but windy so we just snapped a few pic and came back down. Later we are going to grab a glass of wine with one of Nic's freinds, then straight to bed to get a good night's sleep before our next journey!