We stayed at an idyllic estancia, Finca Santa Anita, about 60km south of Salta over Xmas. We travelled down from Cachi into Salta on Friday. Driving across the Cardones Parque (in the rain?), down the Cuesta Obispo road was probably easier for the driver than the passengers (including a hitchhiker of course). I wasn´t looking at the scenery or the drops, just the next bend. We rolled into Salta and it felt like coming home after a holiday. Got the car washed before handing it back to Budget, followed by a bit of tutting at some of the new paint scratches and a definite grimace at the crack in the windscreen...ah well. Saw in the local paper that there was an "Estampas de Argentina" show on tonight at one of the theatres so tracked down some ... read more

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 friendly are there a few things to see. The plaza is very pleasant with lots of trees for shade and some cafes for watching the world go by. There is also the oldest (?) church in Argentina and a good archaeology museum. We went for a walk to find the bus station only to find that it has ... read more

We picked up our spanking clean Chevrolet Corsa and headed out of Salta down Ruta 68 for about 170K to Cafayate. Paved road all the way with spectacular quebrada/canyon scenery part of the way. Picked up a local hitching with two small boys - who fell asleep for the whole ride so the driving must have been OK. Spent a couple of nights in Cafayate. Walked up one of the small hills outside town - great view of the mountains, desert and vineyards. Also went up to one of the bodegas and Andrew went in search of some alleged painted caves at the Cueva del Suri. Involved wandering up and down the hillside in the company of a man possessed from Buenos Aires to eventually find one painted llama and a squiggle. Mmn. From Cafayate we ... read more

The trip from Cordoba to Villa General Belgrano was great. 90 minutes of going up and down hills, round bends, past lakes etc. Very scenic. For a small town VGB is pretty spread out, really felt like we were a long way from city life. It can be quite a loing walk to get to where you are staying - in our case the Hotel Bremen. Walked there past the bierkellers, the shops selling Graf Spee memorabilia and kuchen and the apline sstyle houses. In case you don´t know the town was founded by German emigrants and in 1944 a couple of hundred of the survivors from the ship were relocated here. Found out that there is a festival in town this weekend. Tried some of the beer from the local brewery, Viejo Munich, excellent before ... read more

Well here we are at the start of our five months in Argentina. Arrived in BA after an overnight flight from the UK, leaving behind the autumn and swapping it for warm (hot?) spring sunshine. Staying at a bed and breakfast in Palermo Hollywood for three nights. Spent the first day doing a bit of a local orientation and doing as the Portenos do - sitting outside a cafe and watching the world go by. Palermo seems very different to downtown. Here there is a mix of residential places with lots of cafes and restaurants and some very chichi shopping opportunities. Friday night was steak night as we hit the local parilla restaurant for some top red meat and wine - not quite the outright bargain it was a couple of years ago but then maybe ... read more