La Rioja

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After meeting my Significant Other in Buenos Aires, we set out to find a small itinerary that could offer all of Argentina in a nutshell. Since we both like wandering around in nature, trekking possibilities were very much a must, as was not seeing the same thing twice (well, for me). Since La Rioja seemed to hold a lot of promises - new, surrounded by national parks and presumably hot - we bought tickets there, and soon we were on the Most Luxurious Bus Ever. There was a full meal - be it non vegetarian so we couldn't really enjoy it - , wine, a waiter bringing coffee and even whisky. During a probably bad film (i don't remember it), we fondled each other under the blankets (buses have blankets and pillows), and soon we were fast asleep, only to be awoken by more coffee, breakfast and a yoga movie.
Once in La Rioja, we walked the 45 minutes to the 'very close' city center, were we had a talk with the tourist office. And suddenly our choice didn't seem so decent: La Rioja may be surrounded by national parks, but they're all geological or archeological parks rather than woodsy areas to walk around in: the only way to explore them is through guided tours. Options outside the parks were limited to waking along the road (or the mountains just above it) to the villages along the Costa de La Rioja, or to go to Chilecito, where there's 6 km high mountains, but apparently no drinkable water. Moreover 'no maps exist'. We felt a bit let down by the region, but decided to give it a chance anyway. We waited out siesta on the terrace of some hotel lobby, with nice homemade lemonade and pizza, only to discover that it was sunday and stores wouldn't open anyway. After taking a bus to Sanagasta - which dropped us off at a 'nice place to camp, all the people from town come here to have barbecues in the weekend' - we bought wine and set out to find a good spot to spend the night. We climbed the religious path - Argentina has a thing for making paths on mountains and adorning them with crosses and signs telling about the last hours of Jesus - and looked out over the mountains. And i felt more than happy with the new scenery: something i've never seen before, such red, dry mountains on which only cacti grow. We walked off over the mountains until we found a level spot, where Justine cleared away all the prickly plants before we could lay down and enjoy the starry sky.
The next day, we beat all the birds at noisiness, enjoying love and sunrise, before breaking up camp and heading into the village, where we bought a breakfast and food for later on. We took a minibus to the artificial lake in between Sanagasta and La Rioja, and walked to the far side of that lake. After some solid bushwacking, we found a spot that smelled only slightly of horse dung. And then there was swimming! And the water was way green, but we believed in man's power and purification pills nonetheless. After setting up the tent and making love we made a fine fire and cooked lakewater pasta with lakewater vegetable sauce.
The next day, I did not feel too well.
And even though the water may not be the only reason, it seems at least to be the main one. We walked back to the road, and got a ride from a very nice man with overcute puppies, one of which puked all over my love. In town, we intended to take a bus into the Sierras de Córdoba, but as time went one, i started feeling more and more shabby, with an upset stomach, swollen glands and a headache. In the end, we decided to spend the night in La Rioja. We found a very nice hospedaje (Florida), where we would spend two nights. I mainly laid down and listened to Justine reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'. During a pasta meal, we discussed the world and options for humanity. And though we bought thought Apocalyps was probably the only reasonably productive way out, we found some good bandaids for the road nonetheless. When I was finally up for it, we took the bus to Capilla del Monte.

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