ramblings - part two

Crossing over the border from Bolivia to Argentina was a strange experience. The change was just so drastic. The police on the Argentinian side seemed so tall and light-skinned, there are actually hardly any indigenous people in Argentina compared to Bolivia. From the border we got an overnight bus to Salta, which was stopped a few times, with us having to show our passports and get our bags searched while sniffer dogs checked out the bus.

When we arrived in Salta it was a bit of a relief, and we really appreciated having clean and free toilets with toilet paper in the bus station.

Some pictures from Salta...

Sopa de Mani from the Mercado Central...

Oranges growing on the streets...

Delicious 'media lunas' with great coffee; whenever you order a coffee they bring you a little glass of water with it too.

We went to the Museum of High Altitute Archaeology to see the preserved bodies of three Inca children who were buried in a nearby mountain (Llullaillaco, about 6739 metres above sea level) as a sacrifice to the gods. The three mummified bodies were discovered in 1999 in almost perfect condition due to the thin dry air and freezing teperatures. Two of the bodies are still almost perfect but the younger girl’s body had been damaged by a lightning strike hitting the mountain at some stage during the last five centuries, giving her the nickname “Lightning Girl”. The bodies are put on display in the museum one at a time; when we went it was lightning girls turn, its pretty weird to see a body that is so old and well preserved. The Inkas believed that they never really died but stayed in the mountain to watch over them.