I arrived in Salta in the late afternoon, with only enough time for a short stroll around the city, and a quick look at some of its churches.
The two biggest ones are the cathedral...
...and the iglesia San Francisco - note the theater-curtain decoration above the doors! First time I've ever seen church doors like these :-)
Across the city, I noticed many small shops called Santería.
They are shops that sell religious merchandise. It's funny that they seem to cater not only to Christians, but other religions as well: there was a fair amount of incense in the windows, and I think I also saw some Buddha statues in the back of at least one Santería.
Seeing the incense in these shops, I suddenly realized that I miss the nice incense smell that was ubiquitous in Japanese temples. I hope I will see (and smell) such temples again once I get to Asia...
On the streets, I also saw the first trace of carnival. A group was performing on Salta's main square, advertising their evening procession.
Seeing this, I am already curious to experience carnival in Bolivia :-)
The two biggest ones are the cathedral...
...and the iglesia San Francisco - note the theater-curtain decoration above the doors! First time I've ever seen church doors like these :-)
Across the city, I noticed many small shops called Santería.
They are shops that sell religious merchandise. It's funny that they seem to cater not only to Christians, but other religions as well: there was a fair amount of incense in the windows, and I think I also saw some Buddha statues in the back of at least one Santería.
Seeing the incense in these shops, I suddenly realized that I miss the nice incense smell that was ubiquitous in Japanese temples. I hope I will see (and smell) such temples again once I get to Asia...
On the streets, I also saw the first trace of carnival. A group was performing on Salta's main square, advertising their evening procession.
Seeing this, I am already curious to experience carnival in Bolivia :-)
