Blogs from Calchaquí Valleys, Salta, Argentina, South America

Diena prasideda rytine ekskursija po slėnį, dalis kompanijos tie patys žmonės buvę vakarykštėje ekskursijoje. Kalnai tikrai gražūs, pavažiuojam vis po keliolika kilometrų ir sustojam gražesnėse vietose apžiūrėti kalnų kartais paedami šiektiek gilyn. Sustojam pasifotkinti su lamomis. Slėnio pabaigai du natūralūs amfiteatrai kalnuose su puikia akustika. Prie paskutinio amfiteatro mus palieka, nes čia lauksim autobuso į Salta miestą. Taigi važiuojam iki Saltos, pasivaikštau čia porą valandų, miestas gan didelis bet jame dauguma namų nedidesni nei trijų aukštų išskyrus miesto centre esančius kelis didesnius pastatus. Į akis krenta gražūr ir skirtingai dekoruoti balkonai. Miesto centras nedidelis, o už centro nieko įdomaus ir nėra, tad poros valandų jam apžiūrėti visai užtenka. Keliauju atgal į stotį ir važiuoju į Jujuy. Čia mane pasitinka simpatiška 20metė chouchsurferė vardu Sara. Nors jau... read more

After taking a bus from Salta to the extremely polished and clean -though pretty- village of Cachi, i had a problem. I was in a perfectly beautiful region, with high mountains, exploreable surrounding towns, a legendary valley to venture into and more, and i felt indifferent. Perhaps it's the 'last days syndrome' kicking in: i look forward to being back, but at the same time i want to keep on going, and i want to make these last weeks as impressive as possible. This pretty much immobilised me: what to choose between taking your time, or to fit in more sights? I solved the problem by ordering a beer and tasty provoleta, on a sunny terrace, with Mario Vargas Llosa's 'El pez en el agua' to accompany me. It's -like alway with Vargas Llosa- a fantastic ... read more

Day 627 (16.12.08) Our sparkly red Fiat (soon renamed the flying tomato) arrived in front of the hostel at 9.30am and after booking bus tickets for when we returned we were soon loading our stuff and ourselves into the car for a 2-day road trip with Tess and Haydn. The guys had bought some cheap CDs in the market to use as our soundtrack and we were looking forward to the "Metal Soft" CD with a new song from G n R "Singe I dont have you"! We were headed south to start and, once we found our way out of town with our extremely basic map and the extreme lack of road signs we passed through a couple of small villages based around the main road. Once we reached Moldes we took a turn off ... read more

So, of into the sun again, this time south into the Calchaqui Valley for some hairy roads and more spectacular scenery. The first few miles out of Salta were fairly flat but soon we got into more interesting views and as we began to climb the road narrowed. We stopped for a brief coffee at an isolated cafe at the bottom of the Cuesto del Obispo, the long winding road that goes up into the mountains. The views were wonderful but slightly spoilt by the broken down truck containing 2 children who wanted 1970s middle of the road classics played at full blast while they waited for their mother to return with the tow truck. And that's where the road really got interesting. The tarmac soon ran out and the first ford we came to looked ... read more

Today for my last day in Salta I took a day trip to the small town of Cachi in the Calchaqui valley. Yet again I was shown that when it came to handing out dramatic scenery, South America got a decent share! We drove first through the cloudforest region of the Escoipe Canyon, up the twisting, winding road to the 3200 metre summit of the Cuesta del Obispo, through the barren cactus studded plain of Los Cardones National Park and finally to Cachi in the Calchaqui valley itself (surrounded by snow capped Andean peaks). To top that all off, I had a lovely leisurely 2 hours in Cachi wandering around taking photos, shopping for handcrafts and eating lunch al fresco. Aah holidays..... ... read more