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Published: October 26th 2007
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With only 2 months left in Salta, we are rapidly trying to visit old haunts and explore some new places. During a weekend in Cafayate we managed to do both!
There was good news on the transport front. El Indio who run the buses there have now bought some "combi" minibuses which do the trip in 3 hours. There are slower options still available but the price is the same whichever bus you are on. We stayed in the Hostel Del Angel again,, but new owners have tidied it up a bit and doubled the price. Still, with a bit of negotiating we got the price reduced a bit, and it's a comfortable place to stay if you are a couple looking for somewhere less hectic than the usual backpacker hangouts.
It was the weekend of the Rugby World Cup Final and we watched Argentina beat the French into third place in a cafe/bar on the plaza. There were a few French travellers in there too and they left very quietly after the game. For the final we were amazed to be the only people in there watching the game. Unfortunately England couldn't maintain their discipline and succumbed to
Quara
In all its different guises a South African team who got their game plan perfect on the day.
Anyway, back to the wine. We still love "El Transito" which is very close to the centre. Our main reason for returning though was to walk out to Felix Lavaque on Ruta 40, to sample some of their Quara and see how it is made. It was a great tour with just the two of us and a very well informed guide who, despite speaking only in Spanish, was able to phrase things and talk at a pace which ensured we understood completely. It was the first time we have actually seen a bottling plant in action which was good, but it was impossible to photograph through the tinted glass and health and safety issues (yes, they do exist here!) prevented us from going inside. On the tasting side we have made a new discovery!! Quara now produce a MAlbec Rosado which is made only from Malbec rather than blending it with a white. The skin of the grapes are introduced to the fermenting wine for a short time to give it the rosado colour. The taste is fantastic and we bought a couple of bottles
Felix Lavaque
What a setting for a bodega to chill at home. It's not even in the supermarkets yet but we are hoping it soon will be!! We were also surprised to learn that Quara is now exported to the USA, which will be wonderful news for some of our friends over there!
We had been advised to go out to San Pedro de Yacachuyo to visit their bodega. It was a hot, dry, 7km walk out there through fantastic countryside. When we got there, we had a tour of the bodega but no tasting. What a disaster!! Then our taxi to take us back to town went to the wrong place delaying us by half an hour or so. The countdown to the World Cup Final was ticking so we were keen to get back!!!!
On Sunday there's not a lot open in Cafayate. At 1030 the "Domingo Hermanos" bodega opens though and its well worth the ten minute stroll to see them. In Salta we often drink their housewine which is poured from a demi-john (damajuana in Spanish as we now know!) so we were surprised to find they had some expensive stuff too, and not bad at all. Their Torontes was particularly tasty.
Every bodega in Cafayate will tell you that it only rains from mid-December until late February. They are wrong! On Saturday night there was torrential rain as a big storm blew through. We were sat under cover having a beer and hardly noticed though!!!
Whilst we were up in Cafayate we met up with Kat, who I know through CouchSurfing. It was great to meet her and Alex (who is living in Jujuy), and I will write more about Internet contacts and friendships in a later journal.
So, time's running out and we are now planning our remaining weekends to make sure we don't miss anything!!
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Natalie
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Thanks for the tip--
I'm off on a search for Quara! Oh, how I loved Cafayate....It was so nice to read about your weekend there and I'm excited to see where your old haunts/new wonders adventures take you in your last few weeks in Argentina. Pasenlo bien!