Tuesday May 1, 2012
Cafayate, Argentina
Sunny, Hot in the PM, Cold in the AM
Today we started another road trip. This was is planned to be 3 days long where we visit the canyons and towns south of Salta including the famous Cafayate Wine Valley.
After a very satisfying and good breakfast, we packed our bags once again and just as we were ready to load the car, we found out the night manager accidentally took the key home so we had to wait for him to bring it to us. That delayed us about 30minutes but still OK as it is May Day, a national holiday in Argentina so the streets were still empty (we were worried about finding our way out of the city in rush hour.
We loaded are car and off we went, but unfortunately, some wrong turns and road closures got us lost. We ended up in some not so nice area of the town but found a few policewoman who spoke no English but gave us the general direction of what we had to do. You see, we were heading to Cafayate for the first leg of the trip. We found our way to the airport which was great but again missed the turn off to route 68 which was the “wine route”. Turned around and finally found our way.
The beginning of the trip was tranquil as we passed several quaint towns and meadows including a tobacco farm. I haven’t seen tobacco since I used to go to Kentucky on business a lot in the late 80s.
After a while the scenery changed as we entered the Quebrada de Cafayate. And boy, did it change. First, we felt like we were in a traditional mountain valley with green everywhere. We were to stop at Postas Las Cabras, a tiny mountain village for a sandwich and drink but all the stores were closed due to the holiday. So we continued to Cafayate.
The scenery changed from beautiful to magnificent. Words cannot describe the beauty we saw. Photos also do not do it justice. It’s almost like a mixture of Sedona, Yosemite, Zion, wine country all mixed together. And what made it so spectacular is the mightiness of the Andes. We took tons of photos but will only post a few here.
We did stop at some of the main sights including Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) and Anfiteatro (Amphitheatre) where nature created some amazing natural artwork with the rocks. At the Garganta del Diablo, we met a very talented jewelry designer who was selling his work. Both Sandra and I loved his work which used real stones set in silver. So we ended up spending $$s buying jewelry in the middle of mountains. I bought a gorgeous ring and necklace. Luv it!
Devil's Throat
The Talented Jewelry Maker
The Amphitheater
An hour or so later, we were in wine country and entered Cafayate. We were starving by then so parked at the square and found one of the few places open for lunch ( it was around 230pm) when we arrived. We had empanadas, salad and a delicious spinach stuffed pasta and of course, wine! Afterwards, we asked our water where our B&B was and it turns out to be a block away from the square!
We got to our B&B, El Munay, where Alejandro took very good care of us. We also bought a very good wine at a fabulous vinoteca in the town so we decided to just stay in for the night, relax and enjoy our wine. After we finished the bottle, both of us were game for another glass of wine. So Sandra went to the lobby to get some. Well, Alejandro, gave us 2 HUGE glasses of wine on the house!
The next morning, for breakfast, Alejandro was there again, where he patiently explained to us where to get gas and the directions to our next destination.
Breathtaking scenery and super nice people. That has been our experience in the northwest of Argentina so far.
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