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Previous2007-02-04 - Salta, Argentina - First time in Argentina!
While in Tupiza, Viviana and I started talking about the possibility of hopping back on the train and crossing the border into Argentina. Although we had planned just to hang out in Tupiza, the temptation of exploring a new country got the best of us and we were at the train station the following day at about 3:30 am waiting for the train to Villazon, the border town.
Because we were in the executive class, the train ride was painless and we were already in Villazon by 8am. But with all the hassles, we didn't get across the border until about noon.
First, we had to wait in line at the train station to buy our tickets back, just to make sure we would have seats. This took about an hour and a half.
Next, we had to cross the border. And it wasn't as easy as I was expecting (although it could have been easier). Our friends who arrived on the same train had already been waiting in line for nearly two hours and had not moved from there position about 50 yards back, near the end of the line. They, however, had already been through the Bolivian line which we needed to first go through.
We waited more than another hour before finally getting through the Bolivian line where I had to pay a fine because I had no required slip of paper nor legitimate stamps in my passport. This was because my real passport was with immigration in La Paz and I was carrying my old Peace Corps passport as backup. So they charged me an unofficial five dollar fine. (But I wonder if this is extortion in light of the fact that I would pay much more if we went through the official way of doing things. I guess in the short term, it is just easier for everyone.)
As we were waiting in line, Viviana wondered and asked if we could just walk through the border without having to get the official documentation. We checked back with our friends and they still had not advanced in the line. So we just strolled across the border.
It turns out we wasted quite a bit of time just getting through the Bolivian line and also figuring out how the whole process worked (or didn't work in our case).
(Traveler tip: Be sure to exchange money in Bolivia, as there are no such services immediately on the Argentine side of the border.)
We hopped on a bus to Jujuy and then a taxi to our destination, Salta. We had a bit of a scare when, while en route on the bus, we were stopped by immigration, forcing everyone off the bus and checking bags and IDs. Viviana was questioned about not having the proper papers. She said she lost it and was just in the country for a couple of days. I guess this was good enough. For me, they just looked at the picture on my passport and failed to check to see that I didn't have a stamp. So we were still illegally in Argentina without any trouble.
Once in Salta, we had quite a bit of trouble finding an available room at the hotels. Luckily, our taxi driver was nice and patient enough to drive us around to all the places he knew of until we finally found a room. Thus, another tip is to book in advance and/or call ahead!
What I saw in Salta was completely unexpected. During our trip from Bolivia, we gradually descended from arid, desolate landscapes to the lush valley that we saw on arrival to Salta. It is a fairly small town and pretty laid back.
We had more grilled cow and chicken than we could possibly eat at a nice restaurant in the center of town for only about $4 per person. We wandered through town, ate more delicious food, rode up the tram to the top of a hill, and then we were off less than a day and a half later to return to Oblivia.
It took me a day and a half to get back to La Paz.
It was a fun trip but with a lot of time spent on trains and buses.
2007-02-21 12:40:26 jeffryer says: Well I'm glad to see you finally made it to Argentina; hopefully you enjoyed the excellent food and wine. I haven't been to Salta but have heard only good things from other travellers.
