WE GAVE SALTA SHORT SHRIFT on our 2013 visit. Our MacBook had died and we were anxious to get to Iguasu Falls and meet with friends from the States who were bringing a replacement. We will be in the area for the next couple of weeks and hope to remedy the situation.
Tobacco in Argentina—Who knew?
It's a long and winding road
With our Hertz rental we set off on one of Argentina’s most memorable road trips, two hundred kilometers from Salta to Cafayate on Ruta 68. While Cafayate in itself is an interesting place, this is one trip where the it’s not the destination but the journey. Driven non-stop the trip would have taken us about four hours but the remarkable scenery—not to mention the winding road—took closer to six hours.
Caution—Geologic Forces at Work
Looks a little like the Flatirons
Could be the Siq in Petra
From Salta we followed Izzie—yes, our trusty GPS came along on the trip—though small towns and fields of tobacco until the road started climbing and winding through the Quebrada de Cafayate, a spectacular landscape of red sandstone and interesting rock formations carved by the Rio de las Conchas. The drive brought back visions of Garden of the Gods and the Boulder’s Flatirons in Colorado, Canyonlands of Utah, Bryce and Zion National Parks, the Badlands of South Dakota, Monument Valley in Arizona and even Petra in Jordan. So of course we stopped. Often.
Don't knock it 'till you've tried it
On the Plaza
Charming Cafayate
Every town needs a Cathedral
Cafayate is all about wine—in fact, while Mendoza produces more wine, some oenophiles feel that the best actually come from the high altitudes of Northwest Argentina, Malbec for red and Torrontes for whites. I can’t vouch for the wine—I’ll be driving—but I did give Malbec ice cream a taste. Not bad, not bad at all.
Breakfast with a view
Grapes right outside our room
Finca las Nubes; Farm the Clouds
Malbec Grapes ready for wine—or ice cream
We spent the night at Hotel Plaza Cafayate, a charming place just off the plaza that has taken viticulture to heart—a trellis of Torrontes grapes covers the courtyard right outside our door. It was a short walk in the rain to the restaurants on the plaza and we were serenaded by church bells on the hour.
"The Castles"
It could have been worse
We just had to stop for a while
Yes, that's snow in the Andes
After a short detour for a look at the vineyard Finca las Nubes—Farm the Clouds—we drove the route in reverse. It was equally as beautiful despite a few muddy stream crossings from last night’s rain. With a different point of view we could even see snow high in the Andes.
