Our first few days in Argentina

Before I go any further, for those of you who are just looking at the pictures (and I know there are a few of you out there!) we will be posting some more within the next day or so. In the meantime just wanted to add an update about our journey from Bolivia into Northern Argentina, and our first impressions of this huge country.

We left Tupiza in Bolivia on Tuesday afternoon, and travelled the couple of hours to the border on a very shaky bus. The road was pretty rough and it really did feel like the windows were going to fall out as we rattled along. We got to the border town of Villazon and the border crossing itself was very straightforward. We were travelling with an Aussie/Kiwi couple, Teneille & Rob, and the four of us jumped into a cab on the Argentina side (in the town of La Quiaca) for the short trip to the bus station.

Our destination was Tilcara, a small village about 3 hours south of the border. After being hassled by various bus companies (we're used to that now) we got tickets for a bus we thought would be leaving in around an hour and a half. However, we didn't realise that Argentina time is one hour ahead of Bolivian - we're now just 4 hours behind the UK - so we didn't have a long wait at all. The bus ride was fine, and the roads very much better than the Bolivian ones. In fact the higher standard of living in Argentina was immediately obvious despite the fact that we were in the country's poorest province. It wasn't just the roads, but the buses, range of food available, better cars and most striking of all the sudden appearance of street lights in even the smallest towns, which we realised we hadn't seen for quite some time.

We were lucky in that our bus wasn't searched en route from La Quiaca. Smuggling across the border is a big problem so searches are common - we got away with just a quick passport check. We reached Tilcara at about 10.30pm and, as instructed, headed to catch a cab to the hostel we had booked. Considering we were in a small town of approx 3000 people this was easier said that done. After a few minutes of hanging round like, er, confused tourists we decide to follow a sign to a nearby hospedaje (guest house) and were really glad we did. Tilcara is somewhat off the usual gringo trail, but is well known as an artists area due to the stunning backdrop of multicoloured mountains. The accommodatation we ended up with really reflected this arty feel - not the most luxurius setting but very homely, rustic and quirky and best of all less than half the price of the other hostel we had planned to stay in!

The next day we caught the local bus for the half hour trip to the nearby town of Purmamarca to go for a walk around the beautifully coloured rocks. We then headed back to Tilcara and walked up to the fort of Pucara above the town. I think you probably need to see the photos to appreciate the stunning views! The other big excitement of that day was the food - nearly as cheap but much better than what we had been eating in Bolivia. The Lonely Planet describes Bolivia´s food as "ho-hum" and that is pretty accurate, whereas we were able to get much more creative stuff as soon as we crossed the border. One big excitement was getting fresh vegetables with our meals as this is something we had really been missing.

After wandering through the at times very grim (lots of skulls!) Tilcara museum yesterday morning, we caught a lunchtime bus and arrived here in Salta late afternoon after being slightly delayed by a half hour pretty half hearted bus search. Salta is a busy city with lots of shops, and despite the fact that neither of us are big on shopping it is good to be somewhere where we can buy a few things we need. Andrew finally managed to get some trainers that fit him - we've been trying since Cusco! We also spent a very excited half hour in the supermarket, and made dinner for 6 for a mere 1 pound each including - you've guessed it - just about every variety of veg we could get our hands on.

Oh yes, and the wine is amazing and so cheap, so there were a few sore heads in our hostel this morning. We're off to do some wandering around the city now and plan to stay in Salta until Sunday, before heading a few hours further south to some of the best wine regions. Dad - not quite sure when our next tea day will be!