COLONIAL HOUSE IN NEW AND OLD SALTA

We had an extended stay at Este’s place in Salta. It was excellent. The accommodation is in an old colonial building and is charming. The best part about the stay, however, was the proprietor, Este. She is great. She took us under her wing and provided us with all the help we could possibly ask for. We would stay with Este again in the future.

Let me start with Estela, our hostess. She was amazing and really improved our visit to salta. she speaks english so was able to help us get find attractions, restaurants, supermarket etc. she also brought us freshly squeezed passion fruit a couple of time and even took us to her club where we had a marvelous dinner and even better conversation. Gracious Estela. her home and area were all that were advertised, lots of room, very attractive wood finishing and floors, doors etc (wood imported from Brazil). two private decks, huge kitchen with a lot of appliances we never used. there are also a number of TVs with the one in the kitchen getting 400 stations, a number with movies in english with spanish subtitles. home could have used a washing machine but there was a washing tub to rinse cloths and hang in sun...also close by is a laundry you can drop off cloths...very reasonable cost. her very attractive home on a quiet street a block off a main street where you can catch a bus or just walk 20 minutes on the treed centre boulevard most of the way and a couple of blocks to the main squares. close to her home are a supermarket, smaller stores and a number of restaurants. Estela recommended a restaurant that provided about the best meals we had in Argentina...we went back a number of times for the food and the reasonable cost. there are a number of friendly dogs in the neighbourhood so I was able to get my dog fix. there are a few cambio men at the main square 'July the 9th' --they exchange US$ to pesos. safe and relatively legal as police are close by. lots to see in Salta, check out the gondola, and a number of tours are advertised. buy them from an agency in Salta and pay with pesos after you have exchanged US$ ...about half the cost if you do it on line... the 'blue' rate is twice the official exchange rate and went up from 380 pesos to US$ to 450 in 4 weeks... crazy inflation. Also, we didn't figure out you flagged down taxis on the street and called Remis - call them use WhatsApp...don't need a phone plan just wifi. taxis and Remis are a convenient, safe and inexpensive way to travel. 700 to 1000 pesos to get into town from Estela's .. at blue rate of 450 pesos to us$. I highly recommend Estela's home, you will have a marvelous stay there.