A Peña Party

We've been in Salta, Argentina for 3 days and it's been a great city to chill out at before we head to the next leg of our journey. We're going to head to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile (the main town near the Atacama desert) and then head directly from there by 4 wheel drive to Uyuni in Bolivia to see the salt flats and colourful lagoons. We can`t wait! In Salta, you get a strong sense of what Argentina was like when it was still a Spanish colony. The city's architecture and layout are similar to Spanish cities and there is a laid-back feeling to the place. From 1 pm to 4 pm, businesses stick strictly to the siesta rule and so did we! Salta is also known for its tamales and empanadas. There are so many kinds of empanadas here--you name your stuffing, they've got it! Empanadas are like a smaller version of an English cornish pasty or a mini stuffed pastry. Last night, we went to watch Peña, which is basically the Salta version of the sung tango. These are folkloric songs sung only by men in a broody, soulful manner. In the past, these songs were extremely macho but from what I could tell (from my weak Spanish translating abilities) these men have become more new agey and more female friendly. We also went dancing (not really by choice but it was fun!) with the peña dancers.



and here`s Kevin showing that white men can dance? (the question mark means, you decide!)





And finally, Kevin made me post this picture of him enjoying a delicious ("rico" in South America) glass of sangria. He wanted me to mention that our litre of sangria cost just $2. It really was a bargain but Argentina, overall, is a great bargain at the moment. My highlights plus conditioning cost less than $15 and they did a great job! I guess my Spanish can't be too bad if I got the look I asked for.