Salida del Sol

Salida del Sol is a location in the Sierra Madre found in the add-on Dead Money. The main entrance to this area is east of the Villa.

Background
Before the Great War, it was the home of the church and homes of many of the casino staff.

Layout
Salida del Sol is the eastern section of the Villa. It is split into Salida del Sol South and Salida del Sol North. Traps are littered across the area, with some hidden within the Cloud. A number of ghost people inhabit the area.

Salida del Sol south
Upon entering from the Villa gate one arrives at the "southern" half of Salida del Sol, although much of the forward progress through this section will seem to be to the east and south, since at the very first intersection one encounters two blocked gates - one permanently blocked, and the other, to the Salida del Sol courtyard, locked until reached from the other side.

A battle with two to three ghost people will quickly ensue when one initially approaches the first intersection, and a total of about six populate the region when it is first entered.

A hole in the wall on the right just after the Villa gate provides rooftop access, which can be useful in this area for circumnavigating the two main areas of toxic cloud (although upon reaching the switching station one can use the terminal outside to remove most of the toxic cloud from the area, considerably easing navigation).

The second courtyard can be reached either by traveling south along the main street and then west (i.e. right and then right) from the first intersection, or on the rooftops by cutting through the first hole in the wall encountered when traversing around to the right. This area is effectively a dead end, but provides access to several buildings with miscellaneous loot.

The third area, a smaller courtyard, is reached either by following the rooftops around to the right or by continuing around in the street to the south until one reaches a fork with a vending machine and the graffiti "Cloud kills fast or slow", and then heading right. If one is on the rooftops then the very last hole in the wall on the right contains one of Dean's Secret Stashes. From this point one has two main options to reach the switching station:
 * To avoid passing through cloud, one must take the stairs up to the room with a terminal which lets you shut off some speakers in the area (and if one is playing in hardcore mode features the unusual sight of all the ingredients for a caravan lunch sitting in one place next to an electric hot plate). From the balcony on the other side, one can jump down and hug the wall to the right until it terminates in the courtyard with the switching station, now on your left. If one wishes to avoid cloud when bringing Dog to the switching station, it may be necessary to travel this way, turn off the cloud with the terminal, and then return for Dog via the direct tunnel below, as Dog's pathing leaves a bit to be desired.
 * Alternatively, behind the staircase in the small vending machine courtyard, through the archway hidden at the far south end one can pass through a moderate-sized section of cloud and reach the station directly (and incidentally a turn-off on the right side of this tunnel along the way leads quickly to another of Dean's Secret Stashes).

Once the toxic cloud is cleared using the terminal at the switching station, it becomes much easier to make progress toward the east and north.

Returning now to the intersection with the vending machine, one can proceed east down the main street through an area initially shrouded in toxic cloud but hopefully now turned off with the ventilation system. Two shootable speakers cover this area of the street - one up and behind the archway as you enter and one above the archway at the far end. Between these two speakers, be sure to nip into the small cloud-filled shop with the Cosmic Knife sign to pick up the third of Dean's Secret Stashes in this area.

Then, by continuing to travel down the main street one reaches a dead end with another vending machine and the Salida del Sol door leading to the northern half of Salida del Sol.

Salida switching station
The Salida switching station is located in the southwest corner of the area, and is where Dog must be brought for the quest Fires in the Sky.

There is also a hidden terminal to bring power to the ventilation system and rid the area of the toxic cloud.

Salida del Sol north
Although situated in the north, this second area of Salida del Sol is first entered through a door marked "Salida del Sol house", at the far eastern end of the southern section. It is initially populated by about six ghost people.

Although extremely convoluted, navigating Salida del Sol north is made easier by the graffiti on the walls: numerous tags saying things such as "Run, run, run!" have been spread across the area, and can help guide one's way back to the Villa. The tags are generally oriented so that, if the player character is facing one, then they are facing away from the bell tower, and toward the Villa. Therefore, if one sees a tag in front of them, it is guaranteed that they are continuing along the route toward the Villa. Turning around will lead more or less towards the bell tower.

Upon debouching from the house that begins the area, one can:
 * 1) Look to the left (west) and see the other end of the permanently blocked gate one encountered upon entering Salida del Sol south.
 * 2) Looking straight ahead (north) from the house doorway, the unlocked gate shrouded in toxic cloud is perhaps best avoided initially as it is also covered by a speaker more easily reached by traveling east first.
 * 3) Finally, turn right (east), where following a battle with a ghost seeker and harvester, progress forward can be made.

There are now two possible paths forward to the junction:

Left path
Ahead on the left through some arches is a shop with both a hologram vendor and a vending machine. Standing next to the vendor one can easily see and shoot the speaker over the far door. With this speaker disabled, one can safely proceed through the doorway, reaching a small courtyard which connects back up with the cloud covered gate back toward the entrance to the area.

From this small courtyard, taking a right turn and heading east up the stairs leads forward to the junction.

Alternatively, one can make a side-excursion to the west through an abandoned cafe with a radio on the counter which can be shot or simply turned off. This leads upstairs to a room with a terminal and a balcony that allows a one-way drop down into the cloud-filled Salida del Sol courtyard, from which one can obtain one of Dean's Secret Stashes but must then return the long way around via the gate to Salida del Sol south.

Right path
Instead of entering the shop with the hologram vendor above, one can proceed east and southeast down the main street. Skipping the first staircase (on the right) for the moment, heading to the dead end with a second staircase allows one to retrieve one of Dean's Secret Stashes in the back of the shop. There is a radio behind the counter which can be shot or simply turned off. The actual stash is up at the top of the shelf behind the counter.

Now returning to the skipped staircase on the south side of the street, ascend it but DON'T enter the doorway yet as there is one last important side-excursion: jump over to the archway and cross to the roof awnings. Head as far west as one can get on the awnings - this requires recrossing the street on the second archway until one reaches a hole in the wall on the left. One is now just above the permanently blocked gate one encounters on entering the region. In the room one can find not only one of Dean's Secret Stashes but also the Snow globe - Sierra Madre which will immediately convert to 2000 Sierra Madre chips. In addition, the stacked desks contain considerable miscellaneous loot.

Returning once again to the "skipped staircase", one can now proceed forward through the doorway at the top, into a building where one can pick up the Vending machine code - "Radaway" from the bar near the pool table downstairs.

Head out through the hole in the wall and the pathway gradually bends around to the north to reach a small octagonal courtyard with a tree (and some bear traps) in the center. The only way forward is through the northern tunnel. This tunnel soon reaches a split in the path covered by a speaker. The speaker is just behind and above the entrance to the arched stairway heading north, so turning around while halfway up the stairs will allow one to take it out. At this point following either path will lead to the junction below; one way just leads to the balcony and the other to the courtyard below.

Junction
Both paths converge from east and west upon a dark and bare cobblestone courtyard. The only path northward is now up a staircase with a light shining by it, although one can of course now first choose to explore the path-not-taken of the ones above before proceeding on northward with the level. A ghost person usually lurks somewhere near the junction.

The building one enters through the staircase is a tall one, and the choices are to proceed through a hole in the wall past the vending machine on the lower level or to climb two further flights of stairs (leading to a terminal with part of the History of the Sierra Madre) before dropping back down over the rooftops, but in either case one winds up in an L-shaped courtyard with a wooden ramp leading up to the next building with a trip-wire trapped entrance.

This next building contains yet another vending machine, and when one passes through it for the first time it's best to be ready for a group of three ghost people to attack.

One will now have arrived at the corner of a large courtyard, but before proceeding north take a look to the right & south, where a large staircase descends into cloud. At the bottom of this staircase on the right is the last of Dean's Secret Stashes. The stash can also be reached without passing through cloud by traveling east from this same large courtyard - this path requires shooting or running past a speaker positioned at the top of the wall over the stairwell (as one looks down the stairwell).

Once one is ready to proceed beyond the large courtyard, the large staircase leading up and to the north brings one to the Campanas del Sol.

Campanas del Sol
Campanas del Sol is situated in the very north of Salida del Sol north, and although one receives a map marker and XP upon arriving, it is really completely contiguous with the Salida del Sol north area.

The entry point for the area is a very large courtyard surrounded by balconies. Five ghost people will be lurking in the buildings and balconies surrounding the courtyard.

Although it presents an illusion of complexity, this area is actually quite linear in its progression. Standing in the center of the courtyard makes it easier to get one's bearings. There are three holes in the wall on the upper balcony level - north, east, and west. The north one represents the way forward but first one must reach the balcony. Meanwhile on the lower courtyard level there are two holes in the wall, east and west, in addition to the stairs returning to the south. Since the east hole leads to a dead end room (though with a terminal and some minor loot), one must proceed through the hole in the western wall.

Heading through the western hole takes one on a macabre detour through a chapel room, downstairs through a very large but mostly empty wine cellar, and then back up through a creepy funerary scene. Up one more flight of stairs one then reaches the eastern side of the courtyard balcony. Two ghost harvesters will by now have spawned in the courtyard you just left.

From the balcony one can then stop by the upper western hole in the wall which leads to a dead end room (though featuring quite a bit of ammo for the Holorifle).

One can now proceed at last through the northern hole in the balcony to reach the final section of the level. An empty dormitory leads through to a hole in the wall and another small courtyard. As one approaches the archway on the other side a telltale "collar beeping" situation arises once again. The source is a radio in the upper room - one can run up and turn it off (there is a safe spot just as you turn right at the top of the stairs), or if in an explosives mood just chuck a frag grenade in through either entrance.

Now crossing the upper balcony of this small courtyard, one reaches a hole on the other side leading to a passageway and a room. In the passageway the currently inactive speaker foreshadows the fact that it may shortly become active on one's return from the bell tower - a hint that one can take this opportunity to return and fill the preceding areas of Campanas del Sol with any demolition charges and frag mines that have accumulated in inventory.

The ladder at the end of the final room leads to the top of the Bell Tower, where the Control Panel for the Trigger the Gala Event quest can be found along with the Vending machine code - "hologram rifle - focusing lense" and Vending machine code - "super stimpak".

Once the gala event begins, new ghost people will spawn throughout the area (one can optionally shoot at them from here in the tower) and previously inactive speakers will be turned on.

Salida del Sol courtyard
West of the north entrance's map marker is the Salida del Sol courtyard. The courtyard area is recognizable by what at first glance seems to be a toxic death trap filled with the Cloud, and the only area with standing water in the Villa. Most of the courtyard is filled with the Cloud, as the only safe areas to stand happen to be the awnings above the courtyard and the area right by the gate. The only exit is a locked gate which leads back to Salida del Sol south. Once fallen into, the only way out of the courtyard is to find the Salida del Sol courtyard key, located next to a skeleton and a toolbox in the southeast corner of the courtyard.

Related quests

 * Fires in the Sky
 * Trigger the Gala Event

Appearances
Salida del Sol appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on, Dead Money.

Behind the scenes

 * "Salida del sol" is Spanish for "sunrise."
 * With Wild Wasteland, in the basement area on the way to the bell tower, graffiti saying "I am not your mummy" is seen on a pillar in the center. This is a reference to the Doctor Who episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", in which a set of nanomachines infect victims of the Blitz in London, turning them into gas mask-wearing zombies who can only ask "Are you my mummy?".

Gallery
Салида-дель-Соль Salida del Sol