Bus from La Quiaca to Salta (Argentina)
After spending half a day on the bus, JB is very tired because he has a hard time sleeping and doesn’t dare eat while traveling by bus. We could have continued ASAP to Salta, but it’s better to stay a night in La Quiaca to recharge before another 8-hour bus ride.
At first, I wanted to stop to see the 7- or 8-colored mountains, but JB is tired of moving around so much and prefers to get to Salta as soon as possible. Same for me, when I see that the mountain in question is at 5000 meters, I have no desire to hurt myself (I get altitude sickness as soon as we go up 200 meters). So we spend a night at the hotel Hosteria Refugio del Sol.
The bus terminal in La Quiaca is tiny, and it’s very easy to find the bus that takes us to Salta. Compared to our desired departure time (we want to leave in the morning), there’s only one: BALUT.
We choose to leave at 8:50 AM and arrive at 4:15 PM in Salta. Since JB booked a 5-star hotel for us in Salta, we want to get there as early as possible to enjoy it.
We can pay for bus tickets with a bank card at no extra cost (16,850 AR$ per person).
After exchanging the Bolivian currency we had left at the border, JB has 13,000 AR$ in his pocket, but the hotel costs 25,000 AR$ and adds 5% if we pay by card. We figure we won’t survive long with the equivalent of 12€ in our pockets and look to exchange the dollars I was able to withdraw in the US.
I notice a tourist passing by on a bicycle. In a glance, I detect his friendliness and his good vibes (it’s very rare, there are very few people with good vibes like him, I think in 8 years of traveling, I’ve only met two) and I plan to ask him for advice on getting Argentine pesos.
I haven’t even had time to ask my question when JB already talks to him… in French. He had already spotted him at the border and noticed the flags on his bike, including the French flag (plus his French national team jersey that left little doubt). After understanding that we were short on cash, he offered to help us out so we could eat 😀 it’s really adorable, I wasn’t wrong, he has good vibes.
You can spot people with good vibes like that from miles away. It’s like spiritual leaders, you know, they radiate incredible energy, everyone around feels it.
Anyway, we realize we could have done the exchange at the border. We walk around the bus terminal, a few bus companies offer us scandalous exchange rates. We end up exchanging at a not-so-great rate at a vendor’s stall. We’ll be smarter later by using Western Union, JB will explain it here.
Our French traveler will also go to the vendor to buy a SIM card and we have more time to chat. He’s been traveling in South America for several months, coming down from Colombia. Terrified of dogs, I ask him how he avoids them, and he says you just have to charge at them and keep pedaling, that’s it. However, the dogs he encountered recently were particularly mean, they even bit his suitcase. The road to La Quiaca must not have been easy because I glanced at the road when we took the bus: even the bus had to take unpaved roads, leaving lots of dust in front and behind. Also, we were stopped by the police many times because it’s part of the drug trafficking route. We say goodbye, I couldn’t even tell you our French traveler’s name because we forgot to exchange our first names and contact info.
With our pockets full of bills, we can finally pay for our hotel, pay for JB’s orange juice (1,000 AR$) and tonight’s dinner.
In the evening, we have dinner at La Coyita Restaurante. Their barbecue platter (for two) costs 10,000 AR$. It’s a good preview of Argentine beef, but we’ll have better later.
The next day, the bus leaves on time. The driver asks for a tip to load the luggage on the bus (500 AR$ will do), and to unload the luggage. You give whatever you want. The bus was a bit late due to many police checkpoints. People were randomly selected to open their bags for inspection. Still because of the drugs.
The toilets aren’t super clean, but I held on until Salta.
I recommend the BALUT company; they do what’s expected, it’s not luxurious, but it’s not uncomfortable either. Choose a seat on the right to avoid the sun. The ride is very pleasant because you see lots of mountains, it’s really beautiful. However, in Salta, we felt the heat right away because we went from 16 degrees in La Quiaca to 32 degrees in Salta!
People looked at me strangely with my sweater and puffer jacket that I didn’t have time to take off 😀
