Sunday, March 15 – transit from Buenos Aires to Salta, Argentina

I’m flying out of the Buenos Aires domestic Airport today, which is a much shorter ride from the hotel than was the trip to the international airport. Taxi is basically my best option; not too terrible though with a fare of about $6 (20 minute ride on a Sunday).

I’m travelling to Salta for a few reasons: its colonial architecture, varied museums, temperate climate, and accessibility to nearby tourist destinations. Nicknamed Salta la Linda (Salta the Beautiful), it has a population of around 600,000 and is situated in the Lerma Valley, 3,780 feet above sea level, in the foothills of the Andes mountains.

It was about a two hour flight from Buenos Aires, and still no appearance of virus concerns, as the plane was probably 3/4s full. Again, taxi was my best option for getting to the hotel, with a fare of $8 (15 minute ride).

Monday, March 16 – Salta

One of my goals in Salta was to take a trip on the Tren a las Nubes (Train to the Clouds), which originates here and is now basically a tourist trip that reaches an elevation of 13,850 feet in the Andes. So, after breakfast I made the seven block walk to the train station in order to book a ticket. Well, bad news awaited me. You guessed it, due to COVID-19, the train service has been suspended for a least 2 weeks, maybe longer. Kind of a bummer, but understandable. It’ll just give me an excuse to come back another time!

The museums are closed on Monday, so I asked the concierge for some ideas on what to do today. One thing in particular intrigued me – a set of stone steps that reach up the side of Cerro San Bernardo. San Bernardo is a hill located east of Salta, with a summit that is about 1,000 feet above the city. Sounds like a good plan for the afternoon!

I was expecting some type of viewing area at the top of the stairs, but all it did was intersect with a road winding further up the hill. I walked a little ways up the road, but due to it’s winding nature, I couldn’t really tell how far or where it was leading. So, I abandoned and walked back down. Well, the following day I talked to the concierge about it, and it turns out that road does lead to the summit, and I wasn’t too far from it. Doh! I guess I’ll just have to go back there later in the week.

While resting at the bottom of the stairs I had a couple interesting conversations. The first was with a local young man who owns a hostel in the city. He said that his inn has 10 rooms, and he recently had six cancellations. And this came from not just foreign travellers, but also Argentinians. Interesting…

The second conversation resulted from the first, as this couple heard me talking and realized I was from the U.S. They’re from Baltimore and wanted to talk about the virus situation. It turns out they were scheduled to fly back this coming Saturday, but their flight was cancelled. They ended up being on hold an hour with Delta before sorting out their return. Unfortunately, they had to cut their trip short and will be flying back from Buenos Aires on Wednesday. It’s amazing how fast things have changed over the past couple weeks!

I finished the day by hitting the pool and jacuzzi. Not bad!

COVID-19 Sidenote: I found out that, as of today, the Galapagos Islands are closed to all visitors. I went back and looked at my log from last year, and realized that by this date I had already finished my trip there. But man, I’m so thankful this mess didn’t interfere with my plans then. (Last year at this time I had not yet traveled to Easter Island)

Tuesday, March 17 – Salta

I’m excited to check out some museums today! I have a few in mind, but I wanted to ask the concierge for some ideas too. Well, here’s his suggestion: How about none! As of today, all of the museums are closed for at least two weeks. Of course! Oh well, just have to carry on with other things. How about a roam around the city (and some work on the journal)?

I started out in a place called Plaza 9 De Julio. This is the main square in the city, originating from the 16th century and is named after Argentina’s independence day.

We’re now off the Plaza and looking at few more buildings in the city center…

And finally, a couple other cute buildings in the city center…

COVID-19 Sidenote: I’m scheduled to return home on April 4, but I’ve started looking at earlier flights. I’m booked with Air Canada, and they are offering to waive their change fees. However, the traveler is still responsible for any increases in the fare costs. I’ve looked at their one way fares to Chicago, and all of them within the next few weeks are in the $1,500 range (my round trip ticket was $960)! That is ridiculous! I may look at other airlines for cheaper fares and then see if I can get a refund on my unused portion from Air Canada. I guess my main concerns are: a) what if Argentina suspends outbound flights, or b) what happens if I get sick (I do have medical travel insurance). Not so much worried about a canceled flight, since Air Canada would be responsible to get me re-booked. We’ll see. Things are absolutely changing fast!