After happy family celebrations to see in the New Year, we began a road trip to explore the area south of Salta. This involved a drive over a mountain range from the Lerma valley (in which Salta is situated) to the Calchaquies valley. According to the guide book, the range was supposed to offer incredible scenic views - unfortunately for us, we couldn't see anything through the misty rain. But the road itself was a memorable experience. And once we'd begun the descent into the Calchaquies valley, everything changed completely. The weather was suddenly hot, dry and windy, and the landscape arid and bare - except for cacti.We descended to the valley floor and reached a quaint little town called Cachi. Loads of character with narrow cobbled streets and adobe architecture. It was impressive that so much effort has been made to preserve the original character while still catering to the increasing number of tourists passing through. Nice simple buildings, especially the church with its ceiling of cactus wood. Despite the ferocious wind, we did some exploring before dark, including a visit to an old Indian village site, then enjoyed some great local cuisine before spending the night in a classic Spanish-style courtyarded hotel.
The next day we continued down the valley in the direction of Cafayete. We were basically following the river on Route 40, a road which stretches the length of Argentina. Route 40 is no super-highway. The section we were driving on was mostly unsealed, sometimes single lane and required occasionally fording streams. But our Chevy Corsa handled it all with ease. We made several detours into small towns along the way. It was very quiet, the sun was shining and the atmosphere everywhere was relaxed.
The valley's river basin is very fertile and perfect for wine-growing. One of our detours took us to a stylish vineyard and hotel complex, developed by a wealthy Swiss enterpreneur. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere - for those who want total seclusion, this is the place. Being on a backpacker budget, we chose not to stay there, but moved on to a town called Molinos, with its pretty square, traditional church and a courtyard restaurant which was perfect for a relaxing lunch.
Continuing down the valley, we finally reached Cafayate where it was raining steadily. Cafayate is the largest town in the valley, much smaller than Salta but still large enough to have its own cathedral. It is a tourist destination - even for people from Salta - and the center of the region's winemaking industry. We found a hotel right on the town square and next door to the cathedral. Then we braved the rain to do some exploring and spent time with a family friend of Mercedes.
After a night of rain (apparently it had rained for 15 consecutive days), Sunday dawned bright and sunny in Cafayate. After a quick breakfast of tortillas, we loaded our rented mountain bikes on to a Salta-bound bus which took us 50 km up the Quebrada de Cafayate, following the path of the river though spectacular mountain scenery, to a rocky landmark called Devil’s Throat. The idea was to cycle back to Cafayate and enjoy the scenery more closely.
Devil’s Throat is a massive rock enclosure with an upward-sloping floor. The more courageous you are, the further you advance inside the throat. Lots of fun - but the hardest part is always coming down, invariably sliding on the seat of your pants. In Cafayate later in the day, it was easy to spot who had been at Devil’s Throat - we all had the tell-tale signs on our pants.
From Devil’s Throat, it was a short ride to the Amphitheater, another rock enclosure with excellent acoustics - so good, in fact, that orchestras occasionally perform there. But today there was only the local busker, and a growing crowd of visitors. We then set out on the ride proper. With less than 50 km of what was described as “mostly downhill“, we thought we could breeze through in about 3 hours. Well, it took almost double that time. It was hot and dry, the mountain bikes were heavy on the uphills and slow on the downhills, there were persistent problems with slipped chains, and we were basically out of condition since we hadn’t cycled for two months.
Still, the scenery more than made up for it - amazing rock formations, often imaginatively named (Sinking Ship, Obelisk, Castles, Friar, Toad) towering high into the bright blue sky and contrasting with patches of green close to the river on the valley floor. When we finally reached Cafayate in the late afternoon, we were hot and thirsty but felt intimately acquainted with every inch of the scenic road. And we had been spared any rain.
After a little recovery time and some wine-flavored ice creams (a local specialty), we used the evening light - and the car - to explore further south of Cafayate. Beautiful vineyards looking their best as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. It had been an exhilarating day, and we finished it off with dinner with Mercedes's family friend at a restaurant on the main square.
Monday was the day for our return from Cafayate to Salta. The square in Cafayate was quiet for breakfast (although it seemed to have been busy most of the night!) and we headed out of town with the morning sun. The first 50 km of our journey were very familiar to us, but this time we were going much further. On up the Quebrada past more rocky outcrops until we crossed the river. There the landscape changed quickly and dramatically from dry and rocky to green and fertile. We made one detour to a giant dam (which locals say is responsible for changing weather patterns in Salta) and reached Salta early in the afternoon. An evening barbecue, with a star performance by Manuel the indisputable barbecue maestro, capped the end of a very enjoyable visit to Salta and the surrounding region. And sadly also the end of being spoilt by the generous hospitality of Mercedes’s family. We will miss them all as we hit the road again.
Simon
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