mike & rhonda's latest adventure: Mountain Eye Candy

It would be near impossible to top our Antarctica adventure but we had an impressive follow-up in the Salta region where we started our NW Argentina travels. It was Sunday in the city of Salta, and after taking a quick nap following our overnight flight from Ushuaia (via Buenos Aires), we walked around the town centre area. It seemed like a ghost town with everything closed and no traffic on the streets. On Monday everyone woke up. The streets were quite crowded, the shops were all busy and there were line-ups for buses that seemed to come along every 30 seconds on the streets we walked. It was a remarkable turnaround and we remembered why we came here. Perhaps it was just siesta time on Sunday, or maybe it was a reminder of what Sunday should be……..everyone relaxing at home with family including all the retail workers. Our highlights included visits to the Archeology Museum (Inca relics and mummies from the 1400’s), the beautiful churches and the many city parks that adorned this old city (established in 1582) From there we rented a car to spend a week touring the surrounding 300 km area. The regional buses did not get to all the places we were interested in so we felt this was our best option of covering the region in a week.

Our first stop was in Humahuaca, 245 km’s north of Salta. We arrived just in time for the noon hour Clock Tower chime when San Francisco Solano emerges from a wooden door on the tower (as he always has for many years) to bless his followers and then slip back into a coma for 24 hours. After lunch we drove a bit further to Seranias del Hornacal (one hour for 24 km’s) up to 4300 metres above sea level for an amazing view of surrounding mountains with a “14 colour” landscape. We sat there for half an hour and enjoyed the vistas. Then we drove south to Uquia where there was a 17^th century church featuring paintings by Inca descendants (Spanish enforced) of Spanish warriers bearing both weapons and wings depicting angels, somewhat strange to see inside a church. The next day in Tilcara we walked around some pre-Inca ruins (1000-1400 AD) then on to Purmamarca with its 7 coloured hills, still impressive because we drove into and around the colourful rock formations this time. Continuing south through the scenic Quebrada (ravine) de Humahuaca, we drove along some narrow mountain roads with more great views. Besides dodging the odd car that came our way, our driver (Pocahontas) also had to contend with roaming cows, horses, pigs, goats and chickens that we encountered. We spent the night in San Lorenzo, just outside Salta, apparently where the well-to-do families live, as the homes were large and lovely, as was our hosteria.

The next day we started our drive to the area south of Salta. Our 3 hour route to Cachi took us through narrow, gravel roads carved into the side of lush mountains that would have been insurmountable during rainstorms due to constant mudslides or falling rock impediments. Many large graders were parked along the way waiting for their next assignment. After lunch in Cachi we continued our drive through the Calchaquies Valley on our way to Cafayate. While the views were spectacular, especially around Angastaco, where there were picturesque sandstone landforms, the 160 km drive ended up taking us 5 hours to traverse. Some of the time was taken up by picture taking, but more by the winding gravel road that limited your speed…..and eventually took its toll on one of our tires which went flat in the middle of nowhere. The navigator, lazily enjoying the scenery up to this point, was then forced into action to replace the rogue tire and 30 minutes later we were on our way again. Once in Cafayate, we checked into our hostel, had a quick take-out meal (the area is famous for their empanadas) and crashed for the night. We then spent two days in Cafayate, enjoying the laid back atmosphere and emerging wine district (primarily for its Torrontes wines but also for Malbecs). Several winery visits were made. The best by far was to the Piattelli winery, which I already knew about with its several Top 100 Wine Spectator awards. The tour and wine tastings were both good, as expected, but the lunch we had there was even better, with an outdoor table overlooking the vineyard and surrounding mountains. It was the best meal we have had yet in South America.

Tomorrow we are heading further south to Tafi del Valle where this week-end they are holding their 47^th Annual Cheese Festival. We waited too long to secure a room for the night so we are staying in a cabin in a small town 40 km’s away but it won’t be a problem since we have a rental car and the town is along our route. The following day we will visit the Quilmes ruins dating back to the 8^th century before starting our journey further north to Salta where we will return our rental car and then take an overnight bus to Mendoza where you will hear from us next. Ciao.

The Hills of 14 Colours in Humahuaca. We sat down and gazed at the views for 30 minutes.

On the drive back to Humahuaca we came across a small pack of guanacos including a young one finding nourishment.

Another lovely view from the ruins near Tilcara.

Taken at Purmamarca. Quite a change in scenery (and clothing) from the black and white landscapes of Antarctica and the colours found in the Salta province.