Cafayate

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We arrived in Cafayate and checked into our lovely little hostel called Rusty-K. We didn´t get up to much that evening.
However, the next morning we hired bikes from the hostel and embarked on a tour of the numerous local wineries (bodega´s). The great thing about Cafayate was that the wineries were really close to one another, which meant that Hayley spent less time on a bike, which ultimately lead to reduced risk of being run over.
Our first stop was a place that made it´s own goats cheese. We weren´t given a tour of the place, instead we were just handed 3 small peices of cheese each to taste. We bought a block of goat and Oregano cheese for later and headed onwards and upwards. Over the course of the day we visited about 6 or 7 wineries (my memory is a little hazy). After the 2nd winery we didn´t even bother taking the tour and just headed straight to the tasting. Hayley bought a bottle of white torrentes (a speciality of the region) from Bodega Estuca. I on the other hand dithered at every bodega and ended the day without a bottle. I did try a glass of Tannet which was probably my favourite wine so far in Argentina, but it was too expensive to buy a bottle. So instead i strolled into a winery on teh way back home and bought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that i had never tried before. It wasn´t particularly nice. You definately get what you pay for!

That evening we were recommended a local BBQ place for dinner that did all you can eat for ARS $40!. We turned up and didn´t really know what was going on. There was a bloke cooking a phenominal amount of meat at the front of the place so I mentioned something about all you can eat for ARS$40 and he ushered us over to a table. However, instead of all you can eat we got two massive cuts of beef, chips and salad. I wasn´t complaining though, my cut was from around the ribs and it was INCREDIBLE!! Loads of salty fat...mmmmmm.

The next day we had booked a minibus tour around the local mountains. We were sceptical because of our previous experience on Black Friday but it was actually really good! The surrounding mountains had been eroded by water over millions of years and had left the different layers of rock strata exposed. Each layer was a different colour and the result was really spectacular! It resembled the sand sculptures you used to make when you went to the Isle of Wight on school trips. Whilst hiking along a mountain ridge Hayley, also known now as ´Bambi´because of her ability to trip up on any surface whether it is flat and smooth or rugged and steep, managed to trip and drop her camera!! Neither of us jumped into action, instead we just stood there comically, staring blankly at the camera as it slowly slid down the mountain side. Just as it reached the precipise it stopped! and I (cliffhangerLAD) was sent down to collect it. Surprisingly it was undamaged. Pheww!

That evening we had an asado at the hostel and bumped into Chris and Laura! (our lovable stalkers). At the asado the meat was continuous, the wine flowed freely and we made full us of it! 2 girls at the table got hammer drunk! and at around midnight they tried to convince everyone to go to a bar to carry on drinking. Hayley was keen but i think it was because she didn´t realise how drunk these girls really were! they couldn´even walk! We watched them stumble out of the hostel and 10 mins later saw them crawl back in again looking for a toilet to be sick in!...Oh how I laughed and pointed!

The next morning we got a Flecha bus from Cafayate to Salta. It wasn't a very long journey but the air conditioning was broken and the bus was like a fucking sauna!! To make matters worse Hayley was hungover and found the trip unbearable. In fact she spent the majority of the time storming up and down the bus to find seats that may be cooler...but to now avail. The locals must have thought she had lost her mind!

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