![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lisaandtony.com\/travelblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/map_ruta.jpg\" "\\"map_ruta\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nTotal Miles Traveled: <\/strong>13,208<\/p>\n If you’re visiting Salta, you’ve probably heard of the “Train to the Clouds”, where you ride an old steam train from Salta up, up, up to a town called San Antonio de los Cobres, and beyond, crossing a series of viaducts, bridges, and tunnels, and reaching heights above 4,000 meters or 12,000 feet – prime territory for a little altitude sickness. \u00a0The whole trip takes 14 hours round trip(!), leaving at 7AM and returning around 11PM!<\/p>\n Sounded like a little too much time on a train, so we opted to take a tour that drives up along the same route as the railroad and in less time. \u00a0 We were glad that we did. \u00a0 Here are some photos from the journey…<\/p>\n We started out from Salta beneath a chilly, rainy cloud layer, so we couldn’t see much of the mountains. \u00a0But we saw a heck of a lot of cacti. \u00a0These guys take over 50 years to mature and can be cut down to use as lumber – the wood is very porous, yet very strong.<\/p>\n We stopped at a tiny town called Tastil, where it’s basically a restroom and shopping stop. \u00a0Here’s one of the few street vendors. \u00a0Buy your goods here or in other towns as opposed to Salta where the markup could be 50% higher!<\/p>\n In the local kiosco (convenience store), we saw this machine – can you guess what it is?<\/p>\n That’s right, it’s a jukebox. \u00a0A different kind of old school… \u00a0Speaking of old school, here’s a guy sharpening his knife by cranking a wheel that acts as a sharpening stone.<\/p>\n There are also the ruins of Tastil. \u00a0Below is the ruins of an Incan village abandoned many moons ago. \u00a0It’s unknown what happened to these people (there are no mass graves), but all that is left are rock walls that outline where the homes used to be.<\/p>\n At about 4,000 meters, we reach the small copper mining town of San Antonio de los Cobres. \u00a0It’s one of the poorer towns we’ve seen – the women and kids here are more insistent in selling their woven llamas, quartz rocks, and other trinkets. \u00a0If you’re traveling here, you probably don’t want to stay overnight as there didn’t seem to be many lodging or dining options. \u00a0 Here’s a view as you drive in – the houses that all look the same is public housing built by the government.<\/p>\n Here are some photos of kids headed home from school:<\/p>\n Here’s our favorite photo of this batch – a shy boy ran in to his yard and shut the door, peeping through the hole to see what we were doing:<\/p>\n After lunch in San Antonio de los Cobres, we headed out on to the high plateau toward the Salinas Grandes salt flats, another major attraction in the area. \u00a0Along the way, you see herds of domesticated llamas – they’re marked with bows on necklaces or ribbon earrings.<\/p>\n For more photos, check out the slideshow:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n