Finally. Salta.

Joanna and Alex at the top of the the lush, green hill that Salta sits at the bottom of. We even got to ride a gondola, or teleferico, up the 3,500 feet.
Salta, Argentina`s very own `Christ the Redeemer.`

We have finally arrived somewhere that I feel like writing home about.

We pulled into a city called Salta in Northern Argentina late last night. A city with color, character and charm. And we get to call it home for the next few days.

It`s a city of less than a half-million and situated at the foothill of the Andes. The air here is drier, the people are more tranquilo, and the place is actually surrounded by lush, green nature. Vendors sell a variety of leather, woven and silver goods. There are a dozen different excursions to other parts of the province. And the general feel of this city is just, better, for lack of a better word.

Plus, Alex got his first Argentine haircut here. Yes folks, it´s business in the front and a fiesta in the back --- exactly what we in the United States like to call a mullet. It`s a subtle mullet, but a mullet nonetheless. I suspect we may get fewer stares, as Alex is one with the natives now ---save for the giant backpacks, fare skin and general wide-eyed gapes.

It went a little something like this ...

Alex (for the last three weeks): "I need a haircut."

Me: "Yes, yes you do."

Alex (today): "I`m really hot and uncomfortable. I really need to get my haircut."

Time passes. We come across yet another one of a million peluquerias. This time, the one with the red and white striped barber pole and a dozen hairstyle competition trophies, this one caught our eye. A man with dark slicked back hair did the dirty work. I told him in Spanish, "Cut it just like his current style, only shorter." The barber nods in understanding.

A few minutes later I catch Alex checking himself out in the mirror. He snickers a bit.

Me, slightly worried: "Are you sure you want to keep it that long in the back?"

Alex: "When in Rome." He smiles.

Alas, Alex is the proud new owner of a haircut only the Argentines, and David Bowie, should really be allowed to have.

- JMH