After clearing customs and officially entering Argentina. I saw this sign which was a helpful reminder of my original goal. Ushuaia is the southern most town in South America and my eventual destination. As you can see if I made a straight beeline for the bottom it would be a little over 5000km oneway.
The reason I will not be heading there directly now is due to the winter far south. It is also the reason I will only be temporarily in Argentina as I need to head north (Brazil) for a few months where it is warmer.
But in the meantime I will pass through the northern part of Argentina.
My first stop is the city of Salta with a population of about 500,000.
Another advantage of passing through Argentina at the moment is the black market rate for America dollars. Argentina is in a huge crisis when it comes to their own economy and depreciating value of their peso. Currently I have been able to exchange $US at a rate of 8.5 on the black market. This definitely makes Argentina more affordable at the moment.
I had been told by other travellers that Argentina has a more European feel than a South American feel. It soon became apparent that they were right. The central square of Salta was lined with outdoor cafes and restaurants.
Another huge clue of the European influence was the afternoon siesta. All the shops close down between 12 and 5. This leaves you with only a few choices: 1) go to sleep or 2) sit back order a coffee (which comes with a class of sparkling water and a small wafer) and people watch.
Even the street dogs take full advantage of the afternoon siesta.
A critter I saw running around the park.
I believe it is a possum?
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