Salta, land of empenadas and steak

10-18-08

So after the night bus 10 of us, Jonathon, Jason, Unger, myself, Sara, two Aussies, Ryan (American we met on bus to Uyuni) and Fabbienne and Nadine(two swiss girls we met on bus to Uyuni as well), took a mini bus into Salta. The hostel we wanted to stay at originally was far away from everything so we went to the next option in the Lonely Planet book. That hostel had gone out of business so we had the driver take us to his friends hotel. It was clean and quiet. We decided it was time to experience Argentinian steak and went to a small restaurant down the street from our hotel. The steak was ok but it wasn´t anything to write home about...yet. We then went to Balcarce ST which is the main area where all the bars were. We had some drinks and then went back to the hotel and went to bed.

10-19-08

I woke up late the next morning and wandered around town. Unger, Ryan and I went to a place called Dona Saltena and had empenadas. Yes we are obsessed but these ones are baked so a little healthier. Went back to the hostel took a nap (it is standard in Argentina to take a siesta, and it is really hot in Salta). Woke up watched some TV and headed back to Balcarce to go to a restaurant we had seen the night before. I ordered steak again (figure I will give Argentina a couple of chance). The steak arrived on its own plate and mashed potatoes arrived on a separate plate. The steak was between 24-30 ounces and cost about $7 US. I cut into and my knife went through very easily. I took one bite and almost cried. This was up there with some of the best meals I have had in my life. The only seasoning was a little bit of salt to bring out the natural flavor of the meat. I was in heaven and it only cost $7, well about $11 after the potatoes and drinks. Not that any restaurant would dream of serving a steak this size in the states, but if they did it would easily be more than $50. So we finished this heavenly meal and now understand why Argentinians consume more beef than any other country in the world. We got some ice cream to wash down our steaks and went to the hotel satisfied and tired.

10-20-08

We woke up the next day and Unger and I ran around Salta for a while to reserve a flight to Ushuaia, which is the southern most town in the world. We have now determined a route in Patagonia, but more on that later. We ate some more empenadas took a nap and then cooked dinner for everybody. It was chicken, with pasta in a tomato cream sauce. Pretty good. Fabienne and Nadine invited us for a drink and nobody else wanted to go so I went with them. Had a couple of drinks and then came back and went to bed. All in all it was a good day.

10-21-08

We woke up and packed to leave Salta. The Swedish girls, Ellinor and Karin who went on the Salkantay trek had arrived the night before so Jonathan and I went to lunch with them. We went back to the hostel, gathered our belongings and Sara, Unger and I were off on our 22.5 hour bus journey to Iguazu falls to meet up with Ken and Tom (Aka my father and uncle).