Tour of the Northwest

Monday, November 23, 2009

Salta to Humauhuaca and Back

Karen here. We were to be waiting outside of our hotel at 6:45am for pick up for the tour; this was good, we were to be the first pickup, so we would get our choice of seats. As we boarded the 18 seater Mercedes Benz van we seated ourselves directly behind the driver and had a wide open view.

The tour led us out of Salta, through some green fields and mountians and headed north to Pumamarca. The landscape along the way became much drier and the temperature noticable hotter (40+C). For some reason, even though the tour company advertised that we would be travelling in a new, modern, comfortable, air conditioned, Mercedes Benz van - all of these were not quite true; yes it was a Mercedes and it may have had a/c but they didn't turn it on if they did, so it was a bid hot most of the time. Pumamarca is known for the colourful mountains which backdrop the town. In part these mountains consist of 7 small mountains each a different colour - in tones of red, green, yellow and blue The town appears to be one big market with vendors selling pottery, brightly colours yarns, the typical knitted Andean sweaters, hats, socks and gloves, bright table cloths and bed spreads, mate mugs with filter straws, wonderful wool and leather bags. Back in the van and off to Tilcara.

Tilcara another of the Quebrada towns - where the Peruvian and Bolivian cultures are evident. The town was rebuilt after being leveled in an earthquake several centuries ago. We toured a pre-Incan fortified historic site at the top of a hill; from here we had a great view of the town and the incredible mountain coulours and structure. The village below was a beautiful mixture of Cardon cacti (the ones you see in the old western movies) and cedar trees. Then off to Humamarca our most northerly point where we were treated to a lunch of epanadas (something like baked samosas - these were filled with a curried chicken), llama, potatoes, and fruit salad (fruitas ensalada). Then a tour of the town by a local native - didn't understand a word. Back in the van for a two hour drive back to Salta - we experienced the heaviest rain storm ever with large hail stones and constant lightening. This coupled with the fact that we were told that our guide and drive duo work 7 days a week and this tour was 13hr on the road and of course their days start earlier and go later than ours...so needless to say we were very relieved to arrive back safely.

Unfortuneately, time is up and we have to check out of this hotel, so I have to end.

Salta La Linda

Salta Talent Show Participants

Pool and Late Model Car at Hostel
A Park in Salta - Imagine the Liability Issues
A Colonial Church

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Cerrillos to Salta

We got up early (before it was too hot), had breakfast and got on the road. The hostel had both a pool and wading pool that were signs of earlier glory days - as the photo shows, the pool area has achieved auto junkyard status.

The traffic was lighter and the roads better on Sunday morning. We made it to the city and into Centro in fairly good time. Arriving at the principal square, we stopped for a drink, a licuado (a blender drink with juice and fruit and ice), and planned our next foray.

Next to the square, we found a hotel, Colonial Hotel and got settled in. After getting changed, we headed to the bus station and arranged premiere class tickets for Tuesday's trip to Buenos Aires. We saw the unique playground equipment on our way to the station. On the way back, we registered for a day tour to northern Argentina on Monday.

We spent the rest of the day sightseeing. The beautiful church shown above is an example of the colonial architecture of Salta. It is called Salta La Linda(Salta the Beautiful) for good reasons. In the evening, we had a digustingly good ice cream and watched an outdoor talent show that featured traditional dancers and singers including these young gauchos. One group appeared to be doing a form of break dancing but wore bells on their pant legs that accompanied their dance.

Tomorrow's trip begins at 6:45 AM.

They Don't Like Cyclists - A Day in Hell

Gauchos - Real Cowboys
Costa Rican Cycling Crusaders - Laura and Wagner
A Great Lunch at Rancho Los Molles

Saturday, November 21,2009

Talapampas to Cerrillos

We started cycling at 9:30 AM and it was already 36 degrees. Our initial goal was Salta but that changed as the day progressed and the temperature began to rise.

It got hotter and our breaks got more numerous.

This is gaucho country and we saw several as we rode along. We stopped for fruit and drinks in the first village on the road and got a liter of orange juice, 500 ml of apple juice, 4 bananas, 4 oranges and 4 peaches for 15 pesos (about $4).

It got hotter and our breaks got more numerous.

The headwinds and temperature continued to climb. We met a Costa Rican couple,
Laura and Wagner, who are cycling South America to highlight environmental issues. Wagner is now sporting a 2009 Nova Scotia Heartland Tour t-shirt that I gave him as a souvenir. Here is their website: http://suramericaencleta.com/. Incidently, they were on the front page of Salta's Sunday newspaper.

It got hotter and our breaks got more numerous.

The other bright spot for the day was Rancho Los Molles, where we had lunch. We gave the owner's daughter and grandson Canadian flag patches and a Loon fridge magnet. We had great grilled chicken with mustard sauce and salad. I knew things were bad -Karen ate more than I did.

It got hotter and our breaks got more numerous.

We had difficulty keeping hydrated and it was getting late. There is a rumoured hostel in Cerrillos (20 km from Salta) and we have set a new goal. We settled on Cerillos and the hostel.

Our last few kms were in the dark with heavy traffic. Finally, we found the hostel and Karen went in to check the room. A roof didn't matter; we would have taken anything. The hostel was guarded by two seriously, vicious Labrador Retreivers. We made sure they were locked in before we entered. "They don't like cyclists", the attendant reported.

We showered but had no energy to have supper and crashed early. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring cooler weather and easy riding.

Quebrada Y Concha

Our Home for the night, Parador Posta de las Cabras(or Goat Farm Inn)
Llamas
Los Castillos (the Castles)


Friday, November 20, 2009
Hi, it is me again, Karen. It was ~30 degrees at 8:30 in the morning as we made our way around the town square and out of Cafayate on our way to La Vina (mid way to Salta). We don't know what is in La Vina but since it made it on our map, we assume that there has to be a few hotels there.

Leaving town on a loaded bike is always accelerating and Wow what a day! We feel the slight downhill as we spin along at ~25km creating a light breeze. We pass the wineries and vineyards and into open desert, the mountains are looming in the background on three sides; we take a few moments to stop and look back at the Cafayate and the sun on the mountains. We are in awe of the mountains as we approach and a little nervous knowing that we have to go through them along the Quebrada Y Conchas (canyon of the shells). At first the mountains are vegetated and in tones of grey and brown; but as the miles flow beneath us, the sun baked land is totally devoid of any vegetation other then some cacti and a few scrubby plants and the predominant colour is beige with tones of darker brown. The mountains are much more substantial now and structure and breath taking views make us call out to each other at every turn in the road - some rock formations are named, there is The Titanic (truly looks like a sinking ship), the Obelisk, the Amphitheatre and many treelike erosional features. Not to mention, the three donkeys we came across in the wild and the llamas beside a lone clay hut in the middle of the mountains.

Since we didn't know where lunch might be or if there would be a formal one (in a restaurant), the plan was to stop in the shade every 20km to rest, eat and drink. We were armed with bottles and bottles of water, oranges, bananas, apricots, crackers and cookies. As the day worn on and the temperature and the head wind rose to about the same level (40C & 40km) we took advantage of every clay cabin that had a Coke Cola sign out front to replace our hot water supply with cold. And the stops became every 10km, fatigue was setting in when finally at about 88km (5:30pm), we saw a restaurant (and rooms to let) and stopped to get some substantial food knowing we still had about 12km to go to La Vina. We started with cafe con leche (espresso with milk) and couldn't resist the counter full of pastries (backwards, I know but as they say 'Eat Dessert' first). Not knowing for sure, what, if anything, was in La Vina, we decided to spend the night at Parador Posta de las Cabras (with the goats) as the cabins were large and quite nice (we thought the fan in the corner would help but it turned out to be a space heater, so we had a sweltering night). Supper was a big disappointment but did the job. The owners big yellow lab befriended us but ended up being a pain, he came back a few times overnight to lick the remaining milk from our coffee cups on the front porch (where our bikes were stored - so of course we were wide awake with any sound near our bikes; mental note - always take your bike inside). The end to another day of breath-taking views and total exhaustion.


Cafayate to Talapampas,

We Have Bus Butt

Hotel Emperador - our home in Cafayate
Karen tucking into a salad - my baby goat stew is in the foreground

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

San Miguel de Tucuman to Cafayate

We arrived in Tucuman at 10:00 AM (after 13 hours on the bus) and left at noon (a further 5 1/2 hours)for Cafayate. Had to bribe the luggage man to get the bike aboard (Francisco, another passenger who speaks english said, "It's how it works in this country.").

After driving through mountains and cloud forest (jungle) we arrived in Cafayate. The next luggaage man caused a fuss but we just walked away, dragging 50-60 pounds of gear each, as quickly as possible.

We stayed at the luxurious Hotel Emperador.

Thursday, November 19,2009

Cafayate

We spent the day sightseeing, tasting the local food (goat stew) and getting provisions for our ride into the Quebrada Y Concha (Canyon of the Seashells).

A Day in Pictures

Note: We had problems accessing the Internet successfully for some days or were too exhausted to blog. As a result, the following posts will be brief.

November 17, 2009

Mendoza-San Miguel de Tucuman

We went horse riding in the morning and took an overnight (1st class) bus to San Miguel de Tucuman.

Mendoza

Independence Park, Mendoza

November 16, 2009

Could you imagine if I had lost my helmet?

Karen failed to mention that she had decided to hide some money before we went for supper and we didn't have enough pesos to pay. It was late at night and the hotel was some distance. She told me where the extra money was - I would return and all would be well. But the money wasn't where she said it would be. I returned to the restaurant, stopping at a banco (not bano) for some cash. None of my cards were accepted! At the restaurant, Karen remembered a different location for the pesos. I returned to the hotel, got the cash and paid the bill. All of this was after a bottle of great white wine.

In addition, we have made a tactical decision and plan to delete Iguazu from our itinerary. There is so much to see here and vehicular travel (autobus or plane) would consume a lot of time. Besides, Karen wants to go horse back riding.

After a simple breakfast on Monday morning, we found a Standard Bank and got more pesos. The number of restaurants, hotels, hostels, bus companies and stores that accept VISA diminishes as we move away from the larger centres.

Afterward, we moved to a hostel, Malbec, and did some laundry by hand and hung it on a balcony to dry. It dried so quickly (it is hot and dry) so we did more. We blogged and Skyped for a while and then decided to tour the city.

We stopped for a snack. A cafe con leche with orange juice and 2 small croissants cost about $4.50 Cdn. We sat across from a large park and then walked south, through the park, and on to Campo Base Hostel where we arranged tomorrow's horseback adventure.

We got directions to the bus station and, after several failed attempts to obtain a USB cable for my camera, moved on. We passed a vegetarian buffet and sat in a park watching a busker juggle for tips at a red light. Eventually, we found the bus station and organized our bus to San Miguel de Tucuman, stage one of our trip north. We sprang for first class (251 pesos), paying an extra 40 pesos ($13).

Had an incredible pizza with salad on the way back to the hostel. Someone in Chile raved about Mendoza's pizza and rightly so. There are numbers of residents of Italian extraction in Argentina. Our pizza had tomato, olive portobello mushrooms and pancetta, the thick bacon we first had in France.

Our lunch was interrupted by a street person looking for money. I tried my, "No hablo espanol." This usually works. Instead, he asked, "Do you speak english?", and proceeded to tell us a tale of woe about raising two kids on the street. I have no idea if his story was true but gave him money anyway.

We did some more touring and then sat at a cafe, reading and drinking cafe. After getting things organized at the hostel (laundry and packing), we headed out for another great but cheap supper. I had grilled chicken breast and Karen had salad. I also had Papas al Horno (roasted potatoes) that had been translated in an english menu version as Pope in the Oven.

Tomorrow we ride horses!