http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Argentina , La Rioja en-us Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:35:47 BST Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:35:47 BST THe overnight bus from Salta was a small improvement from the one we took to get there due to blankets and a pillow and seats which seemed a bit more comfortable. However H had been snoring for some time and I had disappeared into my eyemask with the Archers by 11.15pm when they came round trying to serve dinner I declined on behalf of both of us And luckily we had set an alarm as we were gett http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/La-Rioja/blog-299723.html Even though I had expected the Argentines to be amiable and goodnatured I was still taken aback by the genuine warmth of these superfriendly people who offered help when I looked lost waved to me as I cycled past and dealt with my clumsilyconstructed Spanish with patience and goodhumour.The occasional truckdrivers and motorcyclists with whom I was sharing the roads waved and sounded their h http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-294551.html A few pics from La Rioja http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/La-Rioja/blog-287361.html Here we are back in Argentina haveing experienced the magnificant San Francisco Pass as it just unfolded in a spectacular dusting of colour and texture terminating in the pit of Fiambala....We have two entries for the blog one from Mike and one from Keith thanks guys. We left Fiambala as did everyone else but with Gerardo Lance Zane and me riding North to Santa Maria to retreive Alec's moto http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-263370.html From San Jose de Jachal we headed northeast initially over a rough mountain road as far as Huaco and then onto paved R40 complete with fords mainly dry which took us up to Villa Union which is where we got to back in mid December. The only change is that the scrubby desert is a bit greener after the summer rains but it is still empty and hot Felt some sort of mixed emotion about realising that http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/Talampaya-National-Park/blog-255886.html We left Villa Union to head south and east to La Rioja city. Having had a full day of natural wonders the day before at Laguna Brava we passed by the Talampaya National Park thinking that we might well be back in this part of the world or nearby Argentinian nearby is within a couple of hundred kilometres in March. We arrived in La Rioja to find that it is not very touristy but the people are http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/La-Rioja/blog-229116.html After a really good drive from Chilecito over the Cuesta Miranda unmade Ruta 40 with hundreds of bends and some big drops but fabulous views we arrived in the small town of Villa Union. Our reason for coming this far off the beaten track was to get to Laguna Brava park about another 200km north west. Its not in Lonely Planet for some reason. We managed to find a man who knew a man who has a 4W http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-227110.html La Rioja hat ein ganz neues Busterminal das ist aber auch schon alles was an andere Reisende erinnert.Diese Stadt ist touristisch wirklich kaum erschlossen.Zusammen mit zwei sehr netten Damen haben wir eine Reisegruppe gebildet und sind in die Stadt gefahren.Dort eine Unterkunft zu bekommen war gar nicht so einfach.Es war Siesta und da ist einfach rein gar nichts los hier.Kein Laden hat auf gesc http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/La-Rioja/blog-219089.html Kind of understadable why Argentina doesn't advertise much in UK.. Football and that other F word in the 1980's.. but really it is an amazing country and I totally reccomend it Out of all the places I have visited on this trip.. if you are looking for just a 2 week holiday come to BA and the surrounding areas Also not may tourists here really so you feel very special and priviledged. People a http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-158375.html Uitgerust na een fantastische nachtrit komen we toe in La Rioja waar we worden opgewacht door Gonzalo onze gids voor de komende dagen. Met onze daypacks vertrekken we dan in de flashy rode 4x4 naar het westen richting Cordillera van de Andes Dit gebied is niet voor de comfortseekers... je mag je neus niet ophalen voor stof in je haar en grind in je ogen Gelegen op 1300 m hoogte is deze regi http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-142535.html WEEK 13 LA RIOJA TUCUMANAfter visiting Chilecito it was only after viewing my photographs on the computer that I realised that the llama which had spit at me while I was taking its photgraph had aimed perfectly at my camera lense and almost a week's photographs are rather spotty So apologies for the rather poor quality of some of the picturesLa Rioja bus station was very run down but the http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-134655.html WEEK 12 CHILECITOChilecito a town of 43000 is located 3 hours from La Rioja. Again the journey was through desert but there were impressive red sandstone cliffs to the west and a stretch which had wonderful red sandy desert reminiscent of Australia. Chilecito owes its origin to the mining of gold and silver. Output peaked in the early 20 century with the building of a 36 kilometer cable car in 19 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-132101.html Arrived in Chilecito at 6.00am after a 10hr overnight bus trip from MENDOZA Oy I hate those overnight bus rides. We found a charming little farm stay about 3 kms from the centre of town. The town itself is surprisingly off the tourist trail but a great base for the surrounding national parks. Penny couldnt work out the shower so Yeatesy put on his McGivor hat and sorted it out to the resc http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-119011.html HallihalloZuerst mal zum Fotoquiz... die richtige Loesung lautet Bart Simpson. And the Winner is VIVI welche seit fast einem Jahr in Australien am reisen ist und dort seien alle Bart Simpson Fans....Nach einem Tag relaxen in Salta haben wir den Nachtbus nach La Rioja genommen. Um 7.40h schien die Sonne schon sehr stark und es war sicher gegen 25 Grad. Am Nachmittag zeigten die Temperaturmess http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-110339.html Et voil la phrase la plus utilise ici. 45 degrs celcius et on est qu'au printemps La siesta est sacre et s'tire facilement jusqu' 18h30. Alors la question est Que faisje de mes aprsmidi. Et bien je fais ce que j'ai souvent souhait je relaxe. La Dolce Vita o Dulce Vida en espagnol. Je lis je dors je mdite j'coute de la musique et parfois il m'arrive d'tudier.La musiq http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-95804.html Comme je l'avais deja mentionne le climat de La Rioja est comparable a celui du desert. En fait hier j'ai ete temoin d'une tempete de sable qui a dure toute la journee. Le vent soufflait les montagnes etaient cachees par tout ce sable en suspension dans l'air. Il y avait des minitornades causees par l'espece de Chinook andin qui a souleve la terre et le sable des montagnes. il n'a pa http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-89979.html Buenas Tardesdj 5 jours que je suis arrive en Argentine et plus spcifiquement dans la capital de la province de La Rioja. La Rioja aka La Capital est une petite ville denviron 50 000 personnes situe 1100 km NordOuest de Buenos Aires. Cest une ville trs tranquille dans le sens quil ny a pas vraiment de violence et les gens sont trs tranquilles. Ils profitent grandement de la s http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Argentina/La-Rioja/blog-88612.html