Salta History

           Umm, just a warning: If you are not a history nut you will find the next few paragraphs kinda boring. And when you are done, don't say I didn't warn you.

          Well, right now we are vacationing all over northwestern Argentina. It is FULL of history, so naturally I love it here. I am taking tons of pictures!. A few days ago, we visited the old Quilmes ruins in Tucaman. The Quilmes were a small tribe who, depite their numbers RESISTED the huge Inca tribe in the 15th century. Then, they resisted the Spanish conquerers for 130 YEARS before they took over and sent 2,000 survivors to a camp south of Buenos Aires. This 1,500 kilometer trek was MADE ON FOOT!!! Ahhhh!!!! Isn't that amazing? Well, except for the fact that tons of Quilmes natives died on the journey.Then the camp was abandoned because people though it was a ghost town and the dead Quilmes people were trying to seek revenge.

               Anyway, now we are in Salta, which is the OLDEST CITY IN ARGENTINA!!!!!! It was formed by a Spanish Conquistador named Hernandez de Lerma. Salta has TONS of cathedrals and convents, and it is also one of the highest cities in the region.          

          Yesterday we rode El Tren a las Nubes (the train to the clouds), which is a 13 hour train ride with a few stops (so all in all it was 7 am to 11 pm). We rode through the highest town in Argentina and the highest and longest viaduct (bridge for a train thingymagig). We also reached an altitude of 14,000 feet!!!!!! My ears popped and we all had headaches. Anyway, the guide told us a lot about the Native legends like the Native Americans turning into cacti to watch over the people. Cool right?

          Today was amazing. We visited the Museo de Archeologia de la Alto Montonas. In it, there was all the artifacts of Incas that were sacrificed on the mountains. You know, where they make the kid drink an overdose of alcohol and then bury them on top of a mountain? Did you know that they were chosen when they were born, it was an honor to be chosen, and that the kid was MARRIED right before they died? So basically it was like; Here's your bride, your married, okay now you both go on top of a snowy mountain and die!!!! Have a good honeymoon!!!! It was fascinating!!!
                They actually had two mummies at the museum (they had one more but it wasn't on display)! One was a 6 year old girl (she was found with the boy that was not shown, so they were presumably married) and the other was a fifteen year old girl found in a different place. There was a really cool video showing how they can tell how old the mummies are by their teeth.  Sorry, I am such a history nut! Here are some pictures!

Cathedral

Highest viaduct in the world

Quilmes ruins

Mi amigo the llama!!!!