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Published: December 21st 2007
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San Martin in La Rioja
I think there are copies of this statue in every city.. 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 moved to the city ringroad (Lonely Planet and others please take note). Ate in an Italian style place and had some great pasta and some of the very good local olives.
Moving on the next day we drove north east on to Catamarca, the temperature reaching 40 degrees. Something doesn´t quite come together in Catamarca, there is a remodelled town plaza and an impressive
La Rioja - Santa Domingo
perhaps the oldest church in Argentina (1623) Cathedral but the surrounding streets are quite scruffy and many of the buildings around the plaza are less than impressive. This may be unfair as we only spent one night there. We did of course go to the museum. I think that is enough funerary urns and arrowheads for a while! (Susan said that without using any words)
Next stop was heading north. From Catamarca we crossed a range of hills over into Tucuman province which seemed very green and lush. Before turning off to Tafi del Valle we noticed that the map showed the ruins of Ibattin. No mention of it in our guidebooks but nothing ventured nothing gained so we drove off down eight km of rough track. Stopped at the sign and parked up and got out of the car to read the noticeboard. By the time we had worked out that this was the original location of the city of Tucuman and that it had been moved partly because of the unhealthy location and the mosquitos, we were being bitten by swarms of the little so and sos. I don´t think they had had many visitors and were very hungry. A very short visit and
not a place to recommend unless you are a fan of insects and swamps.
Back on the main road we then headed back into the hills to Tafi del Valle. As we climbed the rain began and the clouds descended. Tafi is a resort town with lots of places to stay and to eat. We stayed on an estancia in the centre of town, lovely place with memorable orange marmalade at breakfast. Managed a dry walk to the interesting Jesuit estancia/museum but it did rain a lot and it was cold - the downpurs removing some of the layers of dust from the car at least. We spent some time thinking about where we would be going in January. A worthwhile diversion in the rain.
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