day trip to salinas grandes & purmamarca

On the second day in Salta, Natalie and I got out of the city limits to explore higher grounds in the north. The day before we had settled on doing two day trips in the region with a local tour company whose name I cannot remember at the moment, but will have to locate. At first we considered renting a car to travel the area at our own pace, but one too many recommendations about the long, lonely, stretch of rough road caused us to revert to plan B.

The first tour took us along rusted railroad tracks through mountains dotted with cactus and painted colors. Roadside offerings for Pachamama were easy to be seen as we made our way closer to the Salinas Grandes, but there would be many stops before reaching the climax.

Our guide, a heavy smoker with tattoos of his children’s names lining his arms/hands and need to chew cocoa leaves the entire drive, had offered a revision to the original tour package just two hours into the tour. No one in the car bit. Not even the two 20 year-old ladies with baby doll faces from the U.K. Completely fine with the itinerary and we continued stopping in small towns with populations of 5 to 25 people. Only a few were slightly larger.

We stopped for lunch in an area called San Antonio de los Cobres. I cannot recall the population count here, but the rows of yellow houses with orange colored tiled roof give me the impression there were at least some 300 people around. At least. The streets around the restaurant were a dusty white color, full of people one moment and empty the next. It was a quiet place for the most part, but the restaurant was packed with tourists (mainly European) riding the circuit.

I’d heard about how good the llama was in this particular area and was hopeful of munching on some for lunch. In a total slip of the mind I forgot that the llama was safe during Pachamama. I ordered the beef dish instead and wasn’t disappointed. With or without a squirt of lemon juice the beef was incredibly tasty and I devoured it within minutes. Natalie’s cut wasn’t as nice and a little on the fatty side, so she did the best she could.

After lunch we left San Antonio de los Cobres and pressed further into desert and what seemed like tiny deserted towns. We stopped at one, this one with a population somewhere around ten. There was a church, a tiny museum, a restaurant and a few homes. Our guide told us to spend 30 minutes looking around (so he could nap), but there wasn’t quite 30 minutes of attractions to look at. We entertained ourselves by taking more pictures of cactus and the rabbits that would probably be eaten later.

When our guide finally decided to rise, we were off again. This time the next stop would be the Salinas Grandes, but the road there was paved, unpaved and long. The high sun was starting to slowly sink away into the evening on the horizon. Natalie and I kept busy by snapping pictures of the other passenger every time her sleepy head bobbed over and landed on Natalie’s shoulder. We tried to keep our giggling to a minimum. When we had both passed enough time being goofy, I fixed my gaze out the window.

Then the salt flats came into view. I sat up in my seat with eyes fixed on the grand prize. To simply put it, I was excited because it was something new. Something I’d never seen before.

We wandered around the Salines Grandes snapping photos of the cracked earth and salt ponds with crystals sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. Then we did what all the other tourists do. We took more pictures playing on perspective. We probably could have been a little more creative and taken about 20 different shots with Natalie stepping on a tiny size Adrienne or vice versa, but I think we just wanted to enjoy the scenery if anything.

It would be great if I could say that the tour ended in a salt flat paradise, but it didn’t. A stop in Purmamarca was on our agenda and when we arrived we were a tad bummed that we only had 10-15 minutes to spend before having to head back to Salta. Our tour guide wasn’t particularly good with time management. Maybe it was that 30 minute stop in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know. Purmamarca was bigger than some of the other towns we passed through and it had a great little market that would have been just perfect for finding souvenirs.

But we had to go. It was 7 o’clock and the two girls sharing the vehicle with us had a bus to catch from Salta to BsAs at 10 o’clock. We were two hours away from Salta and we were supposed to have been back at our hotels by 7:30 or 8 PM at the latest. Apparently, our tour guide drove a bit recklessly the entire way back. I made myself fall asleep to avoid being frightened, but Natalie stayed up the whole time wide-eyed and very aware. We didn’t get back to the Design Suites in Salta until 9:15 PM. For this reason I wouldn’t recommend this particular tour operator or at least this guide.

All-in-all we arrived alive and well, if only a bit frazzled. I will keep the beauty I experienced that day in mind and forget all the rest. Viva Salinas Grandes, juicy beef eats, colorful mountain rock and vibrant fabrics from the market stalls in Purmamarca. Next time, I’ll collect your souvenirs.