Joune

Saturday, February 10, 2007

I can't Boliv'ya!!

The more i travel north towards Bolivia and the more fascinating it gets.. the landscapes, the villages, the people.. everything.. and now, as awkward as it seems after almost a year of travelling, i find myself counting the days for what i can still squeeze in before my return... but there's just no way; as much as i'd love to, I can't Bolivia!

Although, entering the last and northmost province of Jujuy, i got a pretty good preview.. the contrast seems pretty sharp with the rest of the country: the architecture, the faces.. just 3 hours north of Salta and everything is different -not the street names of course!- i feel like i've crossed the border already.. and this province is obviously much poorer than the others..

Another unexpected contrast of this country is that the more you travel north towards the "desert" and the more it rains!!.. the past 10 days, since we reached Tucuman, have been drowned in frequent and heavy rains.. deserts are never quite what you expect them to be!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Salt'Art!

This is Argentina!

You've just finished stuffing yourself with a half kilo "bife de chorizo" and "papas españolas" accompanied with a red Domingo Hermanos from the neighbouring bodega, and as you enjoy your white wine flavored ice cream, you glance out the door just to see an old beaten Ford Falcon turn the corner of the plaza Independencia.. and you think to yourself: now this is Argentina!

... speaking of plaza Independencia.. Argentinian city planners have a very practical mind: you can pick any city you've never been to, and arrange a meeting with your friend at the corner of San Martin and 9 de Julio.. you can be sure it exists! Same with 24 de setiembre, 20 de Julio, or any major city name: Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Cordoba.... all the street names of all the cities of the country are rigourously the same!

Cafayate: Biking the Quebrada

Cafayate, in northern Argentina, on the road to Salta, has been one of my favorite places in Argentina so far.. outside the touristic center, the town keeps an authentic charm, with smiling -and drunk!- people and a nice atmosphere..

Attracted by the music and affluence of people, i stepped in a small bar on the outskirts of town, where people covered with flour were dancing.. they welcomed me with open arms and before i could say anything i found myself sipping cheap wine with coca cola and dancing with a 80 years old lady (who must have been on exctasy cause she wouldn't stop!)..

my new girlfriend..

On top of that, it is surrounded by beautiful "bodegas" (wineries) and close to one of the most fascinating landscapes i've seen in a while: the "quebrada" (canyon)..

Instead of going for one of these "hop-in-the-bus-stop-here-take-a-photo-of-this-hop-back-in-the-bus" type of excursions, we decided, my german travel mate and i, that it would be more fun to rent a bike and do it on or own.. all we need to do is take the bus to Salta that leaves at 5 in the morning and ask the driver to drop us off at the "garganta del diablo" (where ever that is)..

At 4 in the morning when the alarm clock rings, after a mere 2 hours of sleep, we start to wonder if it was the right choice.. yet we make it to the bus station, but as i arrive at the counter to get the bus ticket i realise i can't remember where we're supposed to stop!
- "you know, the place where we can go biking.." i try to explain!
By chance, she knows. We load our bikes, and fall right back asleep in the bus.

At 6 the driver stops on the side of the road and calls us.. half asleep, we get down, he unloads our bikes, and leaves.. it is dead dark and here we are, alone in the middle of the desert and of the night, wondering what exactly we signed up for!
So after a good laugh, we just sit next to our bikes, waiting for the morning!

A half hour later the sky starts to get clearer and we realise that we are indeed next to the garganta del diablo, one of the amazing rocks formations of the canyon.. After checking it out, we start biking back towards town as the fatigue disapears under our dazzler; the rising sun slowly paints the whole valley in bright reds and greyish greens of all shades.
The temperature is still fresh and we're enjoying the ride. The marker on the road indicates 49km.

At 10 it starts to get really hot.

At 11 we've already fixed two flat tires and have only one spare tube left.

At 12 we have a half litter of water left for two, and we start thinking we're just going to die in this valley!

The last 5km are really painful but eventually we reach the town around 3:30pm, exhausted and thirsty, but we made it.. and it was really worth it!