Dont cry for me Argentina....

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Buenos días all…. and farewell argentine, hello chile.....

So am currently on v rubbish computer in salta, in northern argentina with sticky keys so apols in advance for crap spelling……

So the next leg of this adventure started over 1 week ago and it has been a baptism of fire…. The dragomán group is a varied bunch ranging from giggly 21 yr olds up to 50plus…. Mainly english but some australians, germans , a canadian and a lovely old irishman. Our leader is an overgrown ecuadorian who has huge knob potential…..

The start of the trip was a bit of a shock to the system after 2 wonderful weeks travelling independently with sam and having the comfort of pepe´s appartemtn..

In fact it feels more of an endurance test than a holiday with tough basic camping facilities, long days in the truck and a change of site every night. It was very daunting to start with - im not used to the “Group” travel thing - doing everything together, having chores assigned whether it be setting up the site, preparing a meal or keeping the truck clean. There is no respite from anyone and as you can imagine there are 20 different personalities. That combined with the fact I got quite sick for a couple of days made me feel pretty daunted and questioning what have i let myself in for….

After 5 days on the road having left Buenos Aires and travelled north through cordoba with nights in the bush, camping in sites where the sand blows through the tent and the ablutionary facilitiesd were vandalised beyond use, we stopped at Los Potreros (http://www.estancialospotreros.com/) . 6000 acres of wild argentinian scrub owned by an anglo-argentinian called Kevin., He couldnt be more removed from kevinism if he tried - eductaed in britain with an accent the queen would be proud of, his family settled there 200 yrs ago. 2 days of riding through the trails on the estancia - land that goes on forever. Gauchos leading the way , we stopped at waterfalls for a dip and rode to the “top of the world” - the highest point on the estancia with incredible views of the countryside.

Our second night camping there - after wine tasting , the long awaited rains finally came and the storm clouds blew over. Flash lightening filled the sky and suddenly the heavens opened and hailstorms the size of maltesers battered our tents. So far it has been HOT days and COLD nights - my sleeping bag allegedly effective down to -10 degrees is not fulfilling its function and Im quite concerened about the altitudes i will be climbing too. Its feckin freezin!!!

Our last night on the estancia involved a huge asado (Bbq) with plenteous wine…. Argentina has been totally about beef and wine!

Hit the road on 12th oct with a long drive day culminating in my cooking group doing dinner in the pitch black., You can imagine cooking cottage pie for 20 people by the light of a head torch was a challenging experience - it morphed into what i like to call Pampas Pie and was bloody delicious!



Dawn starts are normal and yesterday we were on the road heading north into the andean north west - deep into the Salta province. A bakingly hot day and by the time we arrived at Quilmes the sun was ferocious. The journey up there snaked high into the mountains with hairpin bends and warnings to drink lots of wáter to counteract the effects oif the altitude. Climbing to over 3000m the landscape changed dramatically from the straight unceasing flatness of the plains to forest and mountain with hints in the distance of the mighty Cordilla de los Andes. Craggy hulking forms and a landscape dotted with giant cacti - like the wild wild west!

Mistakenly i thought the quilmnes ruins were the remains of a brewery but they turned out to be the remnants from ad 1000 of an indiginous setttlemtn which housed 5000 people. They resisted the Incas but eventually sucubbed to the seige of the spanish and residents were rounded up and marched in chains to BA - very few lived to take on the slave roles they were being deported to.

From Quilmes we continued to the small town of cayfayete which is famous after Mendoza as being the best wine producing area in argentina. Look out for wine called Tannat - its the next big thing to come out of here. The area is famous for its Torrrontes grape - a dry White with a distinct Young bouquet (jilly robinson eat your heart out!!)….

Slept in bed tonight which was heaven and a hot shower - bliss! This past week makes you really appreciate the simple basic things in life when you are on the road like this!. We did a short tour of a bodega with a perfunctory tasting which turned into an until 2am drinking sessión with some of the more amenable members of the group.

14th oct was a day of geological fascination - driving from cafayete to near salta through the barren and inhospitable Quebrada de cafayte - a harsh landscape of red sandstone rocks, blue skies and green bushes all along the rio de las conchas. Appartently its one of argentinas most memorable drives - certainly you felt a visceral response to the jagged, jutting, moulded, twisted erosions - rocks the color of uluru carved by the wind, rain, ice and heat.

We clambered into the devils throat - an astonishing gash in the landscape of sedimentary warped and uplifted sandstone which made you feeel dizzy looking at the angles and formations.

Tectonic chaos!

Yesteerday did a morning of White wáter rafting on the rio juramento which was lots of wet fun and extremely physical with the rapids running at 35 cubic metres per second but the afternoon i pushed myself to the edge when i tried the flying fox lines - 200metres up and 600m across the gaping canyon.

I was not a happy bunny. Im not too big on the adrelanine rush and though Im pleased i did it - flying across an abyss with nothing but a frickin wire when youre being buffeted by the wind and are just a speck in the air sharing the space with elegant giant andean condors was not a pleasureable expereince. I almost to put in bluntly - shat my pants! Was shaking like anything when i got off. No thank you! Wait til you see the pics and youll see why i was so scared….

Its the last day for me in argentina and ive gota ll my washing done so I have a rucksack full of clean clothes - utter heaven. Im in a bed for the night but tomo we leave at 6am to drive for 10 hrs into the atacama desert in Chile to help us accliamntise beofe we head higher into Bolivia….

Ive settled into the grime and ardour of the trip and there are some lovely people on it. There are also some extrenmely irrititating 20 somethings who were born with pearl earrings already attached… this is ceratinly a carácter building expereince and I am mighhty jealous of those (Katie and Matt, Caro and Guiseppe) who have had the foirtune to do it together…. Im by myself and dealing with stuff that doesnt evenbbegin to happen when you are behind a desk ….

Im not grumbling… dont get me wrong. Im having an amazing time but its tough, harsh and Im being pushed beyond my confort zone in so many ways.

Not sure whn Ill be back online but pls do email…its so lovely when i do hit civilisation and there are messages.

Hope Autumn isto too bleak for yáll.

Lots of love Han xxcx

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