Salta Pt. 1

We went to Salta somewhat begrudgingly, but we accepted it out of convenience and feeling responsible to be thorough. Salta is the largest city in little visited northwestern Argentina and serves as a transport hub for travelers entering from Bolivia. Upon arrival we felt the stark contrast of culture, dress and genetic heritage between Argentina and the other South American countries we had visited. Everything seemed so much more like what we remember the states to be and the indigenous influence that we had become accustomed to was completely absent. By the second day I commented on “missing” South America because the difference was so pronounced. It made us realize more the unique culture that the Central Andean countries have with ancient traditions surviving and coexisting in the modern world. I felt a little guilty for not appreciating the value of our experiences at the time. While we reflected on that we also looked forward to the comforts that Argentina would provide.

While we were still in Huaraz, Peru we made two fateful decisions. One, we would add Argentina to our country list. Two, we would explore the potential for our own cycling “training camp”. After some poking around we’d anticipated on locating our “training camp” in Mendoza but had decided to look at Salta also though we had low expectations. Thus we found ourselves climbing off the bus at 2am and taxiing to the municipal campground.

We weren’t sure what to expect with the campground, our camping in South America thus far having been entirely in the backcountry. Turns out that it’s a pretty good deal. For around $2 USD you get a secure place to pitch your tent, a communal bathroom with hot showers, BBQ grill and at this particular location the biggest honkin swimming pool you have ever laid eyes on. We came in at night and assumed the pool was a lake. The thing is seriously 300m (176 smoots) long and is easily visible with satellite imaging software. We ended up spending almost a week in Salta and realized the obvious drawback to such a huge pool, half of Salta shows up there on the weekends. Crowded barely described the situation. On the bright side though our things were left completely unmolested while we weren’t there. The pool also provided us with a surprise triathlon one morning, prospects for training in Argentina were look in up.

We divided our time away from the campsite between two pursuits, scoping out the bike situation and coffee. Observation of siesta varies from country to country and it so happens that Argentines are devout practitioners of the mid-day respite. Thankfully the cafes around the main plaza stay open so we had somewhere to hunker down and wait for the city to wake up a second time. Don´t think that I´m complaining though; amazing espresso (thanks to Italian influence), complementary pastries, free high-speed Wi-Fi and a familiar atmosphere made passing the time a pleasure.

When we were able to get out and talk to people we were directed from one bike shop to the next all over town in the search for road bikes and beta. With leads seeming to open up just after hitting a dead-end we were in a constant state of “here we go again”. After two days of almost getting somewhere we made a breakthrough at an unlikely looking shop a the corner of Jujuy and Mendoza, a place called Saramiento Bike Shop run by Carlos Saramiento. As luck would have it Carlos, a quiet man with a penetrating gaze, is the President of the Salta Cycling Association. Jackpot! When we walked into the unassuming shop (mostly low end sales and cheap repairs) posted on the wall were results from the previous weekend’s race, a list of more than twenty cyclists. Carlos seemed skeptical of our plan to maybe return in a few months however, his daughter (also a racer) was very enthusiastic and helpful. After talking with them we felt confident that we could secure bikes, have some descent places to ride them, and training partners if we so desired.

Leaving the shop we figured it would take just as long to walk back to the campsite as to wait for a bus. Our luck continued because on the way we passed a very clean, modern, and large bike store. It didn’t take long to find out that they had several used bikes that would meet our needs plus lots of new bikes and accessories. It felt like we had won the lottery twice.

With the bike situation looking surprisingly promising in Salta we decided to head up the local mirador via the teleferico and have a look around at the country side. We bought one-way tickets up and hopped in the gondola. As soon as we rose above the buildings the surrounding mountains lept into view. We aren’t talkin snow capped Cordillera Blanca here, but then again skinny tires aren’t much good in the snow. As we ascended three obvious routes became apparent. Then as we neared the summit we realized why one-way tickets were available, a beautiful, twisting, well paved road leads to the summit as well. The road was clearly popular with local runners and would serve us as well. The view from the summit simply made us giddy. We could really see ourselves staying and training here. Mendoza was really going to have to step it up to win our favor.