Gracefully Abroad in Salta, Argentina

by Grace Carballo ‘17

While all of my USC counterparts are on the homestretch with finals week and the finish line of summer within sight, here in Argentina we are just starting midterms. What a time to be alive!

The cool thing about midterms at our university, San Ándres, is that for two whole weeks you drop everything and take exams, without pesky classes to distract you. I had the luck to have all my exams scheduled for the second week, allowing me a full seven days to prepare for them, or a full seven days to travel to Northern Argentina with four fellow exchange students. 

I chose the latter and I regret nothing.

Salta is both a city and a province in northern Argentina and was the home-base for our journey as it also boasts the most accessible airport from Buenos Aires. The city calls itself “Salta La Linda” or “Salta the Beautiful” and I applaud its confidence because honestly, if you got it, flaunt it.

The five of us were a force to be reckoned with given our complete lack of an itinerary and very strong desire to avoid unnecessary spending. (Why would we pay for a guide when we can figure it out ourselves using Camille’s French guide book with no pictures?) Like all the great explorers of history -except objectively way better than the vast majority given we did not exploit the folks we came across nor claim their land as our own- we sought the unknown as well as hostels for less than $10 USD/night including breakfast and wifi so we could text our moms (perhaps my most dedicated blog reader- Hi Mom!).

I also was proudly on “Team No-Spending” to get to the view pictured above. One of the tourist attractions in Salta is the Teleferico or cable cars to get to the highest point on a hill overlooking the city but as soon as I found out stairs were a free option, my ambitious glutes and frugal wallet couldn’t resist.

There are few things sweeter than several ripe oranges from the supermercado on a warm fall day (southern hemisphere- keep up) overlooking a new city after climbing hundreds of stairs to get there. I challenge you to name even three.

And though Salta was just the start and end point of our weeklong journey (being planned in the photo above on a hostel floor), the city in-and-of itself is beautiful in its own way (doesn’t really compare to the nature we saw later in our journey but for something manmade it’s pretty nifty).

Like many colonial cities, the architecture in the city of Salta is very European, and you can definitely see the Spanish influence in the design. People and pigeons alike enjoy the cobblestone streets and spacious plaza at the center.

Let’s cut to the chase here- you want to know about the food don’t you. Well Salteñan cuisine is famous in Argentina and internationally, but I can only speak to one dish in particular given my comically limiting dietary restrictions (vegetarian & gluten intolerant in the land of bread and beef). “Humitas” which are similar to tamales and made of corn, boiled in the husk, and filled with goat cheese; sometimes they are really sweet, sometimes more savory, always delightful and I like them enough that if you told me I could only eat them for the rest of my life I wouldn’t be that mad.

(photo of humita from turismoensalta) 

My travel companions with bolder palates and less sensitive stomachs expanded their horizons much further in Salta. Empanadas, a go-to meat or cheese filled small pie in all of Argentina, are said to be the best in Salta. I can neither confirm or deny this but they were definitely less expensive than in Buenos Aires and nothing tastes better than a great deal! Perhaps the most shocking meal consumed by my comrades was llama meat, once in the form of empanadas and once a llama steak. After seeing several live llamas in all their long-necked-funny-looking majesty along the way, it was pretty weird seeing them on a plate with garnish, but I’m sensitive like that.

(photo of llama meat from platos regionales, Trip Advisor)

Perhaps the most important site in the city of Salta, well worth the 30 pesos with your student ID (equivalent of a little more than $2), is the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña (MAAM) or the Museum of High Mountain Archaeology. We’d heard about it a lot as it came up in nearly every hostel smalltalk conversation but I was a little hesitant to go because the main exhibit is child Inca mummies and I feel kind of uncomfortable looking at dead bodies; it isn’t really my place to gawk at them centuries later. 

(photo from MAAM website)

Like any relatively low maintenance travel companion, however, I went because 4/5 of our group was very intrigued and in the end, I’m glad I did. The MAAM has a number of exhibits that explain and appreciate, without romanticizing or oversimplifying, the Inca culture and heritage. Before the room with the mummies, in which only one is displayed each day, visitors appreciate and begin to understand the rituals and traditions by exploring the impressive collection of statuettes, dolls, and fabrics. Aesthetically, the clothing and sculptures are beautiful and historically, very important and unlike anything I’ve ever had the opportunity to study or see.

(photo from MAAM website- no photos allowed in the museum, a lesson I never seem to learn)

The discovery of the mummies was relatively recent, in 1999, in the Llullaillaco Volcano in the Andes. The three children discovered, all of whom had been offered as a sacrifice in the Capacocha ritual, were found in perfect state of frozen preservation after five centuries. The exhibit explains it better than I could ever hope to, in both English and Spanish, but this ritual brought together people from all over the Incan Empire, which if you look at the map below, was no small feat. It was an honor to be one of the children chosen from each region, and usually they were daughters or sons of leaders or selected for their beauty. The exhibit explains how the ritual was to reunite the children with their ancestors and was not viewed as tragic, like my preconceived notions before going to the museum had led me to view it.

The discovery and preservation of these mummies is important because it celebrates Incan culture and history. The museum has another mummy that was sold several times on the Black Market before it was acquired by the museum and is in far worse condition. This mummy was in Buenos Aires, the capital where I’m studying, before she was returned to her rightful place in the MAAM, where she can be appreciated in the region she once lived.

On the evening we visited the museum, El Niño was exhibited. Even though centuries have past and I’ve adjusted my mindset given the information I learned in the museum, I still find it tragic to think of a seven year old boy dying so young. The description explains he is thought to have been royalty because there is a deformity on his skull. 

(photo of the mummy exhibit from the MAAM website)

On our last night in Salta, before returning to Buenos Aires and all its parciales/midterms glory, we celebrated our successful road trip throughout Northwestern Argentina with a dinner in the plaza (splurge!) and souvenir sweaters for all from a really wonderful vendor on the street. She assured me no llamas were harmed in the making of these sweaters, they just give them haircuts, and I feel at peace with my purchase.

I loved my sweater so much I slept in it that very night in the hostel, but unfortunately woke up to bed bugs before our early (cheaper than the rest!) flight and was forced to boil if for 1 ½ days to kill the suckers off before I could wear it again.

(even with a possible infestation, that is still a nice looking pair of sweaters!)

Salta was a great starting and ending point for our journey, provided a beautiful break from big city life in Buenos Aires, and taught me a lot about Incan heritage and culture that my U.S. education thus far failed to include. 

If you ever find yourself in Northwest Argentina or with the opportunity to go, espero que la disfrutes / I hope you enjoy it! 

(S/O to my Spanish professor here for finally getting me to use subjunctive in casual conversation. Never thought I’d see the day!) 

May you always keep an open mind and seek the open road.

Fight on and travel on,

Grace Carballo ‘17

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