Road Trip, Part Deux.2

Quilmes and the Museo Pachamama

We got up early the next morning to drive the 55 miles south to the pre-Columbian ruins at Quilmes. The settlement is located at 1,978 meters above sea level, and dating from around 1000 a.d., it was the largest human settlement before the Spaniards arrived in Argentina. Covering about 75 acres, the city supported a population upwards of 5,000 in terraced structures with thick walls, overlooking irrigated farmlands. The Quilmes Indians were the last native group to be defeated by the Spainards. The last 2000 survivors were deported to Buenos Aires, where their name now represents an industrial suburb and a beer factory.

We were happy to arrived early and have a chance to climb around and take some photos before the tour buses arrived. We checked out the small museum and Dave noticed a poster advertising the Pachamama (Mother Earth)Museo about 20 kms away. We decided to check that out and were so glad we did. The museum and art gallery dedicated to the important mother-earth deity (Pachamama) is entirely the vision of self-taught artist Héctor Cruz. The artist employed 70 workers for 6 years to construct this large courtyard, museum and gallery complex in black and white native stones. We spent quite awhile here taking photos of all the amazing rock sculptures and visiting the two museums, one on the geology of the area and the other on anthropology. This is definitely a place worth visiting. The gift shop also had some really nice things.

Afternoon Vinos in Cafayate

After the museum, we drove back up Ruta 40 (the longest road in Argentina stretching from Bolivia all the way to Tierra del Fuego) to Cafayate to check out the wineries and toast ol' Pachamama ourselves. As I mentioned in the previous entry, Cafayate is known for it's production of the white Torrontés, but also produces and exports Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chardonnay, and Merlot. Something about the hot days and cold nights makes for some darn fine vinos. Our first stop was Bodega Etchart, established in the mid 1800's but kept up with technology. I couldn't stop singing the theme song from "Laverne and Shirley" as we watched the bottles on the assembly line being filled, labled and shuttled along the belt for boxing. The tour was interesting and the tasting generous. We sampled four different varieties, including a Torrontés-Chardonnay blend, and also got to taste the actual grapes off the vine. We ended up buying a bottle of the Torrontés vinetage that we watched being bottled. First friends to show up on our doorstep in Homer gets to share it with us!

We also visited the Finca la Banda and the Vasija Secreta winery. This is one of the oldest wineries in the area and also had a nice musuem. We only caught the end of a tour and another generous tasting, but were fortunate to meet up with a native Argentine who had lived in the States for the past 20 years and served as a wonderful translator for us. This time we were tempted by and walked out with a bottle of Rosado, which was really tasty and different from anything either of us had had before.

Quebrada de Cafayate & Bungee Jumping?

This amazing canyon that we drove through on our way back towards Salta had us again marvelling at how similar it looked to the US Southwest. The rock formations and red dirt had us pulling over about every 5 or 6 kilometers for more photos! The formations had names like the Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), El Anfiteatro (Amphitheater), El Sapo (the Toad) and Los Castillos (the Castles). We leap-frogged the tour buses as we went and eventually arrived at the Embasse Cabra Corral, a hydroelectric reservoir where our map said we could camp. We arrived in the early evening and drove past the camping to see the reservoir and we thought, maybe, the dam...you know, just for sh*ts and grins. We came around a corner and saw a large bridge with lots of cars pulled over and lots of spectators. Eager to be spectators too (who doesn't love a good spectacle, right?) we pulled over and walked over to the bridge. Here is where we watched (only...no participating this time!) the $15 Bungee Jumping. That's right, for only $15US dollars you, too, can risk life and limb with what appears to be a rather old climbing rope and somewhat sketchy crane like apparatus and jump off a bridge. We watched a few members of a visiting Chilean family do it. We even took a quick video of them jumping and offered to email to them later. It was totally an unexpected part of our day, but we had a good time cheering on the jumpers with the loads of locals also doing so.

Cheapest Camping Ever

66¢ Yep, for less than a buck, we were able to pitch our tent among a dozen or so Argentine families. The bathrooms were the most disgusting we encountered on our whole trip, but hey, I guess that's what $.66 will get ya! We did have a little picnic table to cook our burritos on, and were entertained by a whole bunch of toads. And for a bonus, we woke in the night twice to the sound of local dogs relieving themselves on our tent. Oh well....we got up early again and drove back to Salta. We got a room at Hostel in Salta again and set out planning our next move....a quick trip into Bolivia to check out the biggest salt flat on the planet.

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