Off to Salta

Sunday, Jan. 16

It is a quiet Sunday morning, and I am sitting beside the Paraná River in Corrientes. After breakfast at the hotel (a limited one where I had croissants, toast, butter, jam, fake juice, mate [a type of herbal tea they drink here], and wonderful watermelon), I left my luggage and took the bus here to Corrientes. It is an old city with a well-preserved main square and this nice waterfront area. It is only 10:20, so it is rather quiet so far, and the air feels fresh. Of course, that will probably change as the day progresses. This region, especially just southwest of here, is the hottest region in all of South America.

Brief Notes:

1. Argentina is quieter than Brazil on Sundays. Almost everything remains closed all day. Few people are out anywhere, including the parks.

2. Corrientes was intersting. The square there is supposed to be one of the best preserved in all of Argentina, and it was nice with impressive buildings from the 1800s all the way around it. The rest of the Center also had lots of old buildings.

3. Corrientes also had beaches. Like on the Amazon, the Paraná River is so big that it creates sand and deposits it to form beaches along its banks. There were several nice beaches along the riverfront where people were sunning and swimming.

4. Today has remained mild. This is the second time there has been a mild day after a day of rain. Tomorrow will probably be super hot again.

5. I feel the need to slow down now. I will stay several days in Salta at the base of the Andes Mountains after traveling there on the overnight bus tonight. I hope to get a haircut, to get my teeth cleaned by a dentist, and to do laundry while there, too, in addition to seeing the sites. Here is a website with a photo of Salta:

http://www.argentinatotal.com.ar/info_turis/provincias/salta/ciudades/salta/salta.htm

Note that you can keep this website available and check it for other places I will be visiting as I travel through Argentina. The list of provinces is to the right side of the screen. I just finished traveling through Missiones and through Chaca, so you can click on those to see where I have been.

6. Resistencia is known for its statues. There are over 100 of them scattered around town. Some are nice. The most expensive looking one I have seen has been a gold-colored one of Eva Peron, but it is an ugly statue with her standing at attention in her body-tight dress suit. Many of the statues are modern, abstract ones; some are small while others are large; etc.

7. I ate lunch in a restaurant section of a supermarket--a place that charged by the weight. I had a meat dish that was stuffed and seemed to be either chicken or turkey. I also had a piece of pork roast with a mustard sauce. I had rice, corn, and tomato salad to go with the meats.

8. The bag Evy and Arvind gave me for my birthday works very well for my travels. It holds everything I need, has enough compartments to keep things separated, and is lighter in weight than my old bag.

9. I am looking forward to getting away from the bugs that are everywhere here. Mosquitoes swarm everywhere I got, expecially, however, in tight spaces indoors. I have seen big grasshoppers, cicadae, and cockroaches dead on the sidewalks. Last night, I had to fight the bugs off me and my food as I ate dinner. It´s just too hot and there is too much moisture here. Salta should be a big improvement.