Pics From a Lazy Day in Salta

Today I got up around 9am and was lucky enough to speak with my sister Taty for a bit. I miss Taty. After that I grabbed a big water from the small family owned store across the street, where I've been going exclusively for my waters every day (2-3 a day). The dad and son know my face now, and it feels good to have a warm greeting and a smile when I walk in the door. Funny, they both know that I'm getting water so they start getting it for me when I walk in. Sounds dumb but little things like this make it feel more comfortable to be in a city, and country (and continent), where I really don't know anyone. So, of course, this time I threw a curveball at the storeowner and his son by ordering a ham and cheese sandwich, which they always have displayed in their window. I took my sandwich and large water and walked back to the park, which is now my favorite place in this city. Like I mentioned yesterday I just like the peace of the park, and the families - with their children running around and playing - always make me feel good. So I eat my sandwich and lay around for a bit, but then I walked around Salta and just kinda got lost. As luck would have it I came across some amazing graffiti art, though I guess you could call them murals as well. Took a bunch of pictures, which you'll see below.

After my graffiti tour I walked back toward the city center and found a very mellow cafe and sat there and watched the world go by for a few hours. I love people-watching, and this was one of the best spots I could imagine - old men at the table next to me drinking wine and talking in amazing Argentinean accents, a local girl selling her art and jewelry to my left, and an endless array of passersby - each with their own story, which I always try to imagine. After the cafe I headed back to the hostel and took some time to rest. It's in the 80's and 90's here, so taking time to rest is really important (yes, this is the time when my friends in Chicago roll their eyes and tell me to suck it up:). I took some pics of the hostel's main front room and views from their balcony, which you'll see below.

I've walked in and out of this old-school deli/bar a few times since I've been here in Salta, and tonight I went in for some wine and olives. When I went in this afternoon I spoke with the owner's grandson, who spoke good English ("good English" - not even sure if that's proper…fitting). He told me they close at 10pm so I got there around 9pm and was greeted with a nice smile and some good suggestions on olives and the best house red wine (Tinto is what they call red wine). So I asked him if I could take some pictures and he said no, because apparently his grandfather doesn't want them taken in the store. I didn't pry too much on this point, but found it very interesting. Obviously they don't want this place to become a tourist trap where people are taking pics all the time. And trust me, if you saw this place you would want to take a bunch of pictures. It's lined on either side with very very old bottles of wine and beer and olive oil. Each shelf tells it's own story, and if these bottles could talk I'd listen all day. So I get to talking to the grandson of the owner, and I find out his name is Nicholas (a good sign because my step-brother is also named Nicholas). So I quickly find out that this store, named Casa Moderno (modern house) is 103 years old, and is the second oldest store in Salta. I knew I had a good feeling about this place! Apparently they have their own vineyard in northern Argentina, and they work with many of the wineries in Mendoza, which is the most popular wine region in Argentina. Nicholas has family in both Connecticut and Tennessee, and tells me he'd love to see Chicago and the west coast of the US. I took some time to push both Chicago and SF, though I think he already knew these were great places. I then tell my new friend about my travels throughout Argentina, and that I'm focusing on art and music, and before I could finish he was already getting a piece of paper to write down his favorite spots in Buenos Aires and Mendoza. I love good people. It never fails to put my heart at ease to be around genuinely kind and caring people. Nicholas also gave me a brochure of his favorite winery in Mendoza, called Bodegas Lopez, which I'm definitely going to visit when I'm there in February. During our conversation we discussed the crazy fact that the dollar goes so far here, and Nicholas told me that this week it has increased from 1:11 to 1:13 on the black market. So yes, every dollar I exchange I get 13X the value in Argentinian pesos. SCORE. So then I asked Nicholas about the guys on the street that are constantly asking to exchange my dollars, and he says that you need to be careful about who you work with, and so I asked for a recommendation. He told me about a restaurant where this guy works within and exchanges money, so I told him that I'd come back tomorrow morning and get the exact directions. At this point Nicholas asks me how much I'm going to exchange, and when I tell him $100 he tells me that he'll take care of it for me. Again, one of the nicest encounters I've had here in South America. So I'll be back to Casa Moderno tomorrow morning to get a rate of about 1:12.5 on my dollar :)

After walking out of the store I took a stroll through the main square, and saw some funny street performers and then, just behind the crowd in this walkway were a few dudes hanging out playing some music. They were young and the instruments were guitar, saxophone, and bongos. The guitarist was also playing harmonica, which I loved. I listened for a while and then when they were packing up I gave them $10 pesos and I wrote down my band's name and website for them to check out. I hope they give a listen.

The moral of the story? Always look for the hidden gems, because more often than not they are there…never too far away from the commercial areas and the busy tourist areas. You just need to walk slowly and Make Time.