Farewell Salta, but the mountains continue...

This has been a great stop, and I'll miss Salta

a final beer

a final cafe...and I love how all apt bldgs are dominated by the gigantor cafe foundation on the first floor :)

A final stroll in one of their very Italian parks, with lots of cafes and parillas and boats, etc.

 

a lovely corner

the door to Casona del Marino, which I walked out of at 1 am. There are tragic stories in Zamba too  (the name of Salteno folklorico) as I learned from Naomi when we passed a statue in Jujuy of a man named Jorge Cafrune ..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Cafrune...murdered by the dictatorship for refusing to not sing his song  Zamba de mi esperanza ....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOWEl0c7ypI&feature=fvst....murdered for singing about hope...these guys were the worst, these friggin Argentine generals....very Pinochetista of them...see story of Victor Jara in my Chilean posts...he was also murdered for daring to give people hope in a rightwing bastion of keeping the poor in their place. At least I've never met anyone who defends Videla, though I'm sure they're out there.

The music survives and the dictatorship is dead.

And the mountains are forever as my trip to Cafayate illustrates. And what an amazing ride....

One of many hippie settlements along the highway, complete with dred-locked denizens who got on and off the bus as we traveled along. Sweeter still, a little Indian boy hopped on the bus, and a few miles later, hopped off. The driver picks him up everyday and drops him off to walk 3 hours up into the canyons where lives. He looked like a happy kid...it's a memorable childhood he's living....

Cafayate is wine country...most famous for Torrontes, a dry white I haven't tried yet because I generally don't like white wine. I'm in a cafe now writing this enjoying some Argentine company and an  American girl from Boston who has settled here.