This past lazy week has been spent enjoying the delights of Salta, in the north west of Argentina. This small, lowrise city is surrounded by forested mountains.
Hostal Zabala was our home, a share house complete with two chefs. Many days were spent simply preparing amazing food for the group of 10, 12, 15 people at a time. Meals were enjoyed with wine and followed by a dip in the pool and a ping pong tournament. What a life.
After a delightful week we have hit the road. And what a road! The landscapes in this part of the continent are truly breathtaking and undescribable in their variety. We passed through huge mountains, completely naked of all vegetation, red rock bare, reminiscent of Mars. Salt flats shone bright white on plateaus and candelabra cacti, 6 metres tall, covered plains. Wild llama roamed and gauchos rode bareback between small mud brick villages. Huge snow capped mountains provided the backdrop.
At the border crossing to Chile we piled out of the climate controlled bus to have our passports stamped. The air was fresh and frigid but the sun roasting hot. Emily and I joined the line and enjoyed the view. As I was standing there the strangest feeling came upon me. I began to get nauseous and weak. My arms and legs were tingling. I thought, Jeez, what was in that carrot I just ate? I sat on the ground for a moment with my eyes closed and breathed deeply. The line moved forward so up I got. On my feet I started to lose vision and balance and wobbled around before collapsing down. Emily says my face went completely white, my lips grey and she raced to get the water from the bus. Before she could return a guard whisked me to the medical room, containing nothing but an oxygen tank. After 5 minutes of deep breathing I was back to normal, my first experience with altitude sickness over. We had climbed almost 5000 metres above sea level. It was a complete shock but I was pleased to learn that the remedies include eating lots of delicious sugary food!
Hostal Zabala was our home, a share house complete with two chefs. Many days were spent simply preparing amazing food for the group of 10, 12, 15 people at a time. Meals were enjoyed with wine and followed by a dip in the pool and a ping pong tournament. What a life.
After a delightful week we have hit the road. And what a road! The landscapes in this part of the continent are truly breathtaking and undescribable in their variety. We passed through huge mountains, completely naked of all vegetation, red rock bare, reminiscent of Mars. Salt flats shone bright white on plateaus and candelabra cacti, 6 metres tall, covered plains. Wild llama roamed and gauchos rode bareback between small mud brick villages. Huge snow capped mountains provided the backdrop.
At the border crossing to Chile we piled out of the climate controlled bus to have our passports stamped. The air was fresh and frigid but the sun roasting hot. Emily and I joined the line and enjoyed the view. As I was standing there the strangest feeling came upon me. I began to get nauseous and weak. My arms and legs were tingling. I thought, Jeez, what was in that carrot I just ate? I sat on the ground for a moment with my eyes closed and breathed deeply. The line moved forward so up I got. On my feet I started to lose vision and balance and wobbled around before collapsing down. Emily says my face went completely white, my lips grey and she raced to get the water from the bus. Before she could return a guard whisked me to the medical room, containing nothing but an oxygen tank. After 5 minutes of deep breathing I was back to normal, my first experience with altitude sickness over. We had climbed almost 5000 metres above sea level. It was a complete shock but I was pleased to learn that the remedies include eating lots of delicious sugary food!
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