Salta, La Linda...

...Or so it's called in the tourist brochures and signs entering the northern Argentine province. But I'm in the provincial capital. It's a mix of indigenous-style street vendors, run-down colonial-inspired apartments, and a typical lack of infrastructure. It reminds me a lot of the outskirts of Buenos Aires, or what most of the smaller cities outside of Cap. Fed. look like. The drive into the city gave me a slight glance as to where the province derives its name from. It has an almost desert southwest US feel to it.

The hostel I'm staying in is incredibly well maintained in comparison to the one I've been living in for 3 months. I don't know anyone here though, and I'm hesitant to make friends. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to escape the madness of the capital. I'm here to really experience South America. I've been yearning to escape the traffic, smog, 24-hour bars and pizza shops, protests, parties, girls, and people.

One glaring differece between Salta and Buenos Aires are the prices of everything. Food is about 30% cheaper, which is surprising, considering that I'm in a tourist town. The city of Salta essentially acts as a portal for rural travelers heading north to Bolivia, west to Chile, east to Paraguay, and south to Cordoba, Mendoza, and the capital. For locals, it seems like an urban hub for traders and farmers in the surrounding rural, indigenous provinces. Poverty here is evident, and unlike in Buenos Aires, I really stick out like a sore thumb. This is just a taste of what I'm expecting in Bolivia. Even Argentines stick out there from what I've heard. We shall see.

I'm on my way back to this great little restaurant near where I'm staying which has the best Chicken I've ever had in my life. They use some great spices in their cooking up here, and for 6 pesos, you can't get any better than that. But I'll leave you with a small observation as I sit here in this chilly internet cafe. There's a game on this computer called "Conqueros", which lets you virtually conquer latin America, country by country...and I'm in the most indigenous part of Argentina. If you can't see the irony in that, then don't bother reading any further. That's it. I'm out. Time for Chicken and wide-eyed stares.