18.-21.11.09: Salta, Cachi, Cafayate

(Disclaimer: the following accounts – and pictures – are not suitable for vegetarians… )

Initially we wanted to travel south in Chile from San Pedro de Atacama – but seeing the prices, and also considering that southern Chile still was a bit chilly and hopefully would warm up a bit in a few weeks, we decided to venture through northern Argentina to Iguazu and Rio first. Also I had not seen anything of northern Argentina in my last travels, so we came to see Salta and its sourroundings. And what a luck, it’s beautiful there! We could have easily spent a full week there too, so we only had 3 days on our schedule – and decided it was best to rent a car for 2 days and drive south to Cafayate and back on another route, both amazing. Or well, actually that was Gaëlle’s idea, the french girl we had met with Or on the border from Bolivia to Chile. Lucky once more.

But first we had a look at norther Argentina culinary treasures: steaks, steaks, steaks

The first steak in Argentina (one of many to follow) - 600 gramm bife de chorizo...

Or liked his too

So did Gaelle and Rieke

Next evening: making use of the barbecue at our hostel

A whole filet (800 gr) of the best quality bought in the local supermarket for 3 USD... the best meat I have ever eaten...

Some interesting facts about Argentina and its steaks:

• Until recently Argentina had a population of 96 million cows. With the current government putting a 35% export tax on beef (to keep farmers from exporting and making beef artificially cheaper in Argentina…) cow population has gone dramatically down and next year things might well be different on the beef market.
• Argentinians eat an average of around 150gr of beef per day…
• We bought whole pieces of fillet (= 800 gramms), the best of the best quality, for the equivalent of 3 USD, that is 2 EURO… If I remember right in Germany we pay some 40€ for a whole fillet piece
• But it just tastes incredible. I am not a big meat eater, e.g. I very seldom buy meat myself for cooking, and I do understand vegetarians pretty well – but here it’s just something else… The good part is: they live happily out on the vast meadows until their time has come

Our Gourmee

But enough about food here’s the fotos from our trip with the rented car to Cachí and Cafayate, amazing landscapes changing virtually every few kilometers:

Leaving Salta towards the countryside

Our car - no horn, doors did not always open, but it served us well

Climbing up to the pass (4.000m)

On the pass

Cactus fields

Big ones

Stopover in Cachi - beautiful little village

A light lunch... Gaelle had apparently challenged the owner of the place by saying the pieces of fillet looked smaller than the ones we had eaten the evening before - what came to our table was "slightly" bigger than the usual portion. Though the local white and red wine he had proudly poured us in well enough too helped. And Rieke driving the 2 hours afterwards too

From Cachi to Cafayate. At the car rental they had warned us about the bad roads - but actually this was almost better than most interstate highways in Peru and Bolivia

Vicuña farming

Church in the little village Merced

The local hotel - in the 17th century home of some spanish governor

Getting closer to the red cordillera

Driving through stone formations - apparently this was sea ground millions of years ago

Ayer's rock Argentian version

Red mountains on the left

...blue mountains on the right

Our hostel in Cafayate

Next morning, driving past kilometers and kilometers of vineyards

Then sand dunes

The big dune

Mud formations (the former sea ground still) - was this supposed to the the "castle"?

...or was this the "castle"...

The monk

Looking down on the whole valley

Looking for the entrance to "the Amphitheatre"...

There it is

In the "devil's throat"

Beautiful trip, all this in 24 hours.

…and then we had to run for the bus to Puerto Iguazu already.