King of the Road

Since my bag got stolen, i´ve lost my book with contacts. if any of my recently encountered fellow travellers happens to read this site once in a while, please send me your email address. thanks! Es una lastima, pero me roban el bolsillo, y mi libro con direcciones y datos de la gente que encuentre fue a dentro. Entonces, estoy tratando de buscar todos mis amigos viajeros de nuevo. No se si ustedes pasan por aca, pero de ser asi, seria rebien de me enviar los emailes perdidos. gracias! Alors, quelqu´un m´a volé mon sac a mains avec mon livre de contacts, et je suis en train de les chercher de nouveau - ça sera trop bete de ne plus pouvoir se rencontrer seulement parce qu´un con me prends mon sac. Si vous - chers amis ... read more

Continuing its marvellous landscape-shifting capacity, Argentina caught me off guard with the Yungas: at only 50 kilometers east from the arid Quebrada de Humahuaca, lush rainforest rules supreme. After coming back from the Puna, i spent the night in a shady pension in San Salvador de Jujuy, where there's not an endless list of things to do. Bussing to Ledesma, the surroundings started to change. Soon, fields of cane sugar and misty forest-covered mountains appeared. From Ledesma, i started walking to Parque Calilegua, 10 km further. It was Sunday, so no buses ran. On my way, i stopped to buy some wine for the night (it's wilderness, but it does not have to be uncomfortable), which led me to a long talk with the shop owner, who thought camping was way to uncomfortable. I told him ... read more

Irúya has the most perfect location ever, in an isolated valley, surrounded by imposing mountains, with the river running steadily below. It is the centre (well, with around 800 inhabitants) of a range of small indigenous communities in this part of the Andes. The town itself is charming with its very ancient architecture and steep streets, surrounding by terrace fields on the flatter parts of the mountain slopes. Earlier on, this was a region where terrace agriculture - exisiting here from before the arrival of the incas - flourished and on the mountains you can still see the rests of this brilliant way to make the best of a terrain as difficult as this. I went here with Barbara from Paris and Julien from Montreal, whom i met on the shabby bus that needed 3 hours ... read more

On first sight, Humahuaca and it's beautiful valley looked like my stereotypical idea of andean South America: dusty roads, abandoned railroad stations, 19th century houses, a whole lot of indigenous old women and massive coloured moutains with cacti. After spending some time in this town, it's over-authenticism started to annoy me though, i suppose Unesco declaring this region patrimony of humanity has triggered a tourism so massive that it has destroyed most of the essence of this patrimony. Humahuaca is very pretty and has a not too fake vibe, but it lives off tourism, and the centre is one big shopping centre for artesania (yes, i did buy lama gloves). That being said, the setting is still breathtaking, and to enjoy it to it's fullest, camping Carolina is a fine choice. I put my tent in ... read more

Since there's not so many Argentines knowing about this park, it didn't surprise me that most people reacted with 'you're going where?' to me explaining my plans of exploring this small park of lively lagunas, palmtrees and difficult roads. Parque Mburucuyá was created out of two former estancias (large farms and their land), holds magnificent animal life and fine scenery sights. My first stop on the way to the park was Saladas, a town with a bus terminal. Wandering around there, i asked a girl in a ticket office for directions, and if i could leave my backpack there. She looked at my luggage, asked whereever i came from, and upon my reply shouted out 'impossible! And you're here in Saladas! Come in and have mate, you need to tell me all about your life!' That ... read more