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Published: March 13th 2009
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I arrived in Tafi del Valle with Chris from France and Tobias from Denmark. The three of us had heard that Tafi would be a relaxing place in the hills. Tafi is said to be a gaucho town, the cowboy area of Argentina. It was a nice place, but the weather was not in our favor. We set out in the morning on a hike as the weather looked somewhat clear. About an hour and a half into our walk the sky darkened and poured on us. Unlucky for us we were out in the open with no trees to take cover in. I had a rain jacket and Tobias just had a sweatshirt. Chris was prepared. The walk back was not very fun, as we were drenched from the rain. In the end we did not get the views we were hoping for and we were freezing cold as Tafi is at a high altitude. To top our lovely stay in Tafi off, our hostel was full of mosquitos and our beds were crawling with bed bugs at night. I guess I can say it was an experience, just not one I am looking to have again.
We moved
on from Tafi to Cafayate, the second largest wine region in the country. While about 70 percent of the wine in Argentina comes from Mendoza, the other 30 percent comes from Cafayate. It was a gorgeous place. Set along side some sprawling hills Cafayate was a dusty town lined with wineries. The four days we were there were spent hiking, biking, drinking wine, eating cheese, and drinking more wine. The saying here is ¨muy tranquilo¨meaning layed back I guess. That was exactly what it was. Myself, Tobias and Chris took a 50 km bike ride through the winding road to Cafayate. The landscapes were gorgeous, changing by the second. I was happy in Cafayate but I decided to move on having heard Salta and the North would be gorgeous.
I guess there is nothing you can do about it when its rain season here in the north. Its a bit depressing when you are not familiar with an area and its raining constantly. When I arrived in Salta I decided to book a tour of the North. I am not really sure why I chose that, but either way, it was not the best idea. Really, in my head
all I wanted to see were the Salt Flats in the North of Argentina, but the tour from Salta was a full day twelve hour tour. I am not a big fan of sitting in a bus for long periods of time, stopping for twenty minutes at a time to see sites and take pictures. You are not able to appreciate what you see. I took a tour for one day up to the Salt Flats. Its amazing what altitude can do to a person. We climbed to 4,170 meters. You could feel the lack of oxygen, people began falling asleep on the bus, we chewed on Coco leaves to stay awake.
I guess in the end I did get to see the Salt Flats so it was well worth it. It really is a mystical place, looking at a picture of it you would assume it were a glacier, or snow. Words for me cannot describe it and pictures do not give it justice. You just have to see them for yourself.
Today I am in Salta waiting for a bus to Iguazu. I don´t know. This weather has put a bad feeling in my stomach. Its
depressingly grey. It has made to me want to see something amazing to get me back into the flow of things. I guess that is why I booked a 22 hour bus ride to Iguazu Falls. Everyone says its an amazing place, so I guess I will soon see for myself.
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Fern Zagor
non-member comment
Gray skies are good too.
Your trip sounds amazing. I enjoy reading about all your adventures and try to imagine myself there, too. Not so easy, but I'm good at fantasizing. Thanks for keeping us all up to date. Fern