Blogs from Cafayate, Salta, Argentina, South America - page 8

Wine, glorious wine. There are too many bodegas to visit in just a weekend. We managed to get around three of them and leave enough to ensure we return for another go in the future! First stop was the Vasija Secreta (Secret Barrel) which claims to be the oldest bodega in town. It is a beautiful little place on the edge of town and easily walkable. We were impressed by the small museum and their tales of being completely non-mechanical. All the equipment is hand operated, but they no longer crush the grapes using their feet! No matter how interesting the tour is though, it's really the sampling you go for, isn't it?! And we were very impressed. We got to try a red, a rose and a white. Strangely for us it was the red ... read more

I know this is going to be a bit of a shock to you all, but we have become rather fond of Argentine wine! Mendoza is probably the most famous part of the country, but right on our doorstep is the lesser known Cafayate region. We thought we'd give it a go for the weekend and had such a good time, this blog is going to be spread over a few entries! To get there we had two options, one to take the bus, and the other to hire a remis or taxi from opposite the teleferico station. The cost for the former was around 50 pesos, whilst the latter, including pick-up from home, a running commentary and photo stops whenever we wanted, was 90 pesos. We decided to travel in Nelson's Peugeot rather then El ... read more

Good thing Gary spent so many hours teaching me how to drive a stick shift because that´s all they have here. We got up this morning (still cloudy if you were wondering) and rented a car for our drive to Cafayate. Cafayate is a town filled with wineries about 186 km south of Salta. We were looking forward to the drive as we´d read that it´s a beautiful route and luckily, paved the whole way. About an hour in, we took a little side road out to a lake that was suggested to us by some locals for lunch. We sampled the local fish that came straight out of the lake and can only be found in a few places in South America. On the way back to the main route, we almost got run ... read more

I need one more day!!! In the morning I got up early and moved down 3 blocks, to my beautiful new place, the recently opened hotel Posada Santos, where I am the only guest :). Maria Angelica gave me a lovely room, where I simply dropped my stuff, resisted the temptation to step down from my terrace straight into the pool, and left again, for the ruins. The drive into the province of Tucuman is beautiful! I stopped several times, got out of the car - what a silence and width of space! I simply watched, listened and enjoyed. And was happy again about travelling alone. Stop any second you want to. And miss out on places that may be nice on your own decision, since you cant see everything anyway. In a small village I ... read more

WEEK 14 CAFAYATE - SALTA I wasn't very impressed with Cafayate. A tourist resort full of artisan stores at inflated prices and many selling imported products. I did have a quick look but as I can't carry anything else extra I didn't regret not buying anything. There was however good wine tasting and a chance to walk round the vineyards. On the way to the winery we walked passed yet another Routa 40 sign - this time almost 5000K-- which gives some idea of the length of the country. Mariela, the girl in my dorm was going paragliding - one of my long term fantasies ( I think I must have been a bird in a past life!) I went along to watch. I always thought they went to a high point, waited for a gust ... read more