Baker's Breadcrumbs

Tren a las Nubes

Tren a los Nubes

We hit the road in our hire car from a cold, rainy Salta straight after breakfast. We made our way along a route that climbed through lush green forest soaked in clouds and then ascended through the spectacular coloured quebrada. The 'tren de los nubes,' or 'train of the clouds' is a special tourist train that travels from Salta through the moutains and up to a viaduct, which is a 16 hour return trip. We caught up to the train within two hours of leaving Salta and drove along the road parallel to the tracks. At this point we became trainspotters as we would drive ahead of the train,get out of the car and set up some photos of the train chugging through the quebrada scenary. At some roadside ruins we stopped to peruse the small market, and visited a quaint museum complete with mummified remains of an Inca man.

Tren a los Nubes

Tren a los Nubes

It felt really good to be off the bus and in the car and to have the freedom to stop and detour if we pleased. Our plan was to take it easy on the drive, acclimatise slowly to the rise in altitude and have an overnight stop in the small town of San Antonio. At the highest point of the ascent, we peaked at an elevation of 4,080m. This definitely felt like the highest altitude we had been at, as taking a few steps had us gasping for air.

Abra Banca Mountain Pass

We reached San Antonio, described in our book as a 'dusty, mining town', and we quickly realised there was really not much more than dust and desserted streets lined with crumbling buildings. The place felt like a prison camp more than an inhabitable town. So, armed with a very vague road map, plus some very vague (Spanish) directions from the hostel-owner, a compass (app on Trav's phone) we found ourselves driving on through the middle of the desert along a rocky, bumpy and in places thick and sandy in our 1.6L VW Gol (Polo). About 20km into the desert landscape we noticed an engine warning light on, and after consulting the Spanish Manual we decided to risk the remaining 80km of desert.

Llamas on the road

Ruins on the way to Salinas Grande

Salinas Grande

Our next stop was at the Salines Grandes, a 525 squared km expanse of crusted salt lake. Here we experimented with taking 'perspective' photographs using our trusty vegemite tube, which we figured will come in handy at our next salt flats stop in Bolivia. The salt flats were a blinding whitish/grey and despite being after 5pm the sun burned strongly down. This was counteracted by a chilled mountain wind, lending an eerie feel to the stillness.

Cuttings in the salt used for salt production

Salinas Grandes

Ali tightrope walking a vegemite tube

Happy to be back on paved road, we drove the remaining couple of hours to the tiny town of Purmamarca. On the way we peaked over another mountain pass which was 4,300m, surpassing our record set only hours before. Along the way we stopped to marvel at sunset views of the quebrada's pillars of flaked chocolate, musk and cherry.

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Quebrada de Humahuaca

Purmamarca

In Purmamarca we ate a dissappointing dish of llama steaks and stew for dinner, after discovering it was a public holiday (on a Saturday) and all of the recommended restaurants were closed.

Purmarmarca

A 3km walk the next morning through the 'Cerros de Colores' (hills of 7 colours) overlooking Purmamarca left us breathless, from the stunning scenary as well as the high altitude. The landscape succeeded again in impressing us with its scalloped rock formations highlighted by the morning sun.

Cerros de Colores

Rock formations around Purmamarca

Cerros de Colores

Purmarmarca

While wandering through the artesan crafts market we ran into the french couple, Hugo and Emilie, who had also hired a car and were town-hopping through the quebrada. We planned to meet up later that day in Humahuaca.

Purmarmarca

Purmarmarca to Humahuaca

We drove on, watching the mountain terrain change from minty greens to violet-crumble rock shards. The miniature road-side towns we stopped at were desserted and not so welcoming. Along the way we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and stopped for a quick photo shoot.

More coloured mountains

Tropic of Capricorn

So we continued on to Humahuaca and arrived in time for a late lunch. Humahuacais the largest town of the quebrada, with a sense of activity that was definitely missing from other towns. To describe the lifestyle of these towns as laid-back is an understatement, the indigenous people here are extremely quiet, with a good sense of humour, the children appear happy, and on nearly every road you meet an old lady in traditional dress herding her goats.From our hostel we watched the sunset turn the sky dramatically from dusk to night.

Humahuaca Sunset

Humahuaca Sunset

That evening we shared an apertif of red wine and olives with the french couple before heading out to a restaurant together to eat a more satisfying dish of llama, with the regional speciality of quinoa and goat's cheese salad.

Dinner with Hugo & Emilie in Humahuaca

Tilcara

The 4th of the 4th had arrived, and to mark our two years of married life we had booked a night of luxury in the town of Tilcara. We drove our hire car to its return point some two hours south, then jumped straight on a bus northbound again to Tilcara, which is a very pretty town, sitting off the main highway, and framed by mountains. After checking into our spacious suite, with flat-screen TV, couch, woodfired stove and king size bed, we walked to the town's restored ruins. The ruins had been re-built, so really they did not feel very authentic. The ruins were surrounded by a fortress of cacti, which was probably the most appealing feature of the ruins.

Tilcara Ruins

Tilcara Ruins

Later that evening we relaxed in our suite with wine and cheese, and then found a boutique restaurant to enjoy a romantic three course dinner with a fine bottle of red. The highlight of this was the dessert, a 'volcan de chocolate', or chocolate fondant, which oozed hot chocolate lava, easily winning as the best fondant ever experienced.

Anniversary Dinner

Anniversary Dinner

The following day we reluctantly checked out of our hotel, and into a more budget-fitting hostel, which turned out to be really awesome. We hiked an uphill 4km along a track to a waterfall through the canyon behind Tilcarra, only to find the "waterfall" was a man-modified trickle of water and the Lonely Liar (the travellers name for the Lonely Planet) promised pool for swimming a total myth. Nevertheless, the walk was much-needed exercise and training for hiking at altitude and we were more than ready for our lunch of llama hamburgers.

Path to the water trickle

The hostel's peaceful, shady garden with an incredible mountain view provided the perfect spot to laze away the afternoon, particularly if lying in a hammock. We headed out to a local bar in town with a Californian couple, where a football game was playing on TV. This did not go exactly as planned however as minutes prior to the game starting, the whole town's power supply went out. No one could tell us how long the power would be out, and after sitting in the dark for a while finishing our beers we left the bar in search of dinner. Unsurprisingly, none of the town's restaurant's could function wthout power, so we walked by the light of the stars back to our hostel, where to our huge relief there was an assado cooking on the charcoal grill. That night we feasted on juicy marinated chicked with roasted vegetables, bread, and of course, vino tinto.

Salta was to be our last stop in a decent-sized town for a while before we took to the road to explore the province's Andean towns and villages. We arrived off a late afternoon bus that nearly sapped the life from us thanks to the broken air conditioning. It was like being in a glasshouse for the three and a half hour drive through the desert . Our hostel was right in the heart of the city, which unfortunately was the hostel's best feature, as there were no good common areas to hang out in.

Cathedral Tower

Church in Salta

Salta is a gorgeous city of the Andean north-west, full of stunning colonial buildings which when lit up at night give the city an alluring glow. We rode the cable car to the peak above the city, which had impressive views of Salta city against the moutains.

Cable Car

Ali Portrait at Top of Cable Car

At sunset, the opportunity for some photographs of the fading daylight constrasted with the spectacularly lit up old buildings was too good to pass up.

Salta Town Hall

Salta Town Hall

Church in Salta

Church in Salta

We also had some great food while we were in Salta. They are renowned for their empanandas, which we had many. But they also served up some other great local dishes such as Tamale and Locras (local stews).

Tamale and Lamb Locro with melted goat cheese

On the advice of a fellow traveller, we took our chances on the 'best' steak in Argentina at a restaurant slightly off the touristico track. And we were not disappointed. Accompanying our massive, juicy and tender steak (1 was enough for 2) were heart-stopping hand-cut chips smothered in eggs and parsley. We washed this down with a bottle of gutsy Cafayate cabernet.

The Best Steak in Argentina

At this point we decided to vary our itinery, having been captivated by the landscape of the previous quebrada (canyons) of the region. From Salta we hired a car for three days, with the intention of road-tripping through the remote areas of the Salta and Jujuy province.

Another Salta Church

After our whirlwind tour of the famous Mendoza wine region, we decided to spend a more indulgent three days in the small, laid-back town of Cafayate in Northern Argentina. This endearing wine town lies in the Valles Calchaquies, a region of the north west, and is surrounded by the Quebrada de Cafayate, a stunning mountainscape of jagged rock formations that sit along a fault line, which makes for the most breathtakingly diverse scenary we have seen to date.

Cafayete Town Hall

But first, the wine. Most of Cafayate's wineries lie within walking or cycling distance of the town. Within an hour of stepping off our bus from Cordoba, we found ourselves tasting delicious Malbecs and Cabernets in a tiny, family-run winery which makes their wine by hand. At this winery we met a french couple, also staying in our hostel, who both worked in the food and wine industry. We ended up having many a conversation with them about food and wine while sharing the afore mentioned delights.

Old Fashioned Wine Barrel

The next day we hired bikes and made our way around to several wineries. The wine tasting experience of the wineries usually kicks off with a guided tour of the winery and a detailed explanation of how the wines are made. The tour usually finished with a tasting of three or four of their entry level wines. There are a few varieties of grapes grown in this region, including Malbec, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon, however the speciality of the region is Torrontes. Torrontes is a perfumed, and fruity yet acidic and light, white wine. Being red wine lovers, we had our doubts about this white, but we were repeatedly surprised at how much we enjoyed it. By the end of the day, and with very sore butts after a day of cycling, we had learnt lots about the wines, sampled a few decent ones and were loaded up with a few bottles to enjoy later.

The view after 5km of uphill cycling

Vineyards of Las Nubes

Harvested Grapes

El Etchart Bodega

Not only did this town have excellent wines, it also had some delicious regional comidas (food). These include empanandas; locro, a soupy stew with beans, corn and meat; tamales and humitas, pureed corn mix steamed and wrapped inside their leaves; and cabrito, goat stew. As Cafayate boasted the best empanandas in the north, we were obligated to sample them. They lived up to reputation, resembling flavour-packed pastry parcels of meat, corn, peppers, cheese and herbs. And last but not least, the wine flavoured helado. Imagine a sorbet-style icecream that tastes of fruity red wine or aromatic white wine. Delicious!

Casa de Empananda

Next we turned our focus the the incredibly seductive mountain scenary surrounding us. We took a private tour with the owner of the hostel who drove us to all of the most unique parts of the Quebrada. Words hardly do justice to the beauty of this landscape, but here goes. The colours of the rock are vivid, bright and vary from intense sunsets reds and oranges, to minty greens, pale pinks, and rusty browns. To stand inside the canyons, with the sun burning intensely down on the dusty ground, is a very surreal experience. Later, as the sun was going down and the colours of the rock gradually faded, we felt the cool mountain air bring us back down to earth.

The Train

The Eye

Some Cave

Cactus

Obelisk

Mountain in the Quebrada

Colourful Mountains of the Quebrada

Us in the Quebrada

Coloured Rock Formations

Coloured Rock Formations

More of the Quebrada

Perspective Shot in the Gargantua del Diablo

After arriving early into Cordoba we were greeted with a dreary and wet morning. We traipsed to our hostel to dump our bags and grab some breakfast. When we could eventually check in we had a quick power nap before heading out to take in the sights of Argetina's second largest city. Starting with a gallery we worked our way into the historic city center to check out the supposedly well-preserved colonial architecture, although we found most of it quite disapointing.

Colonial Buildings

Colonial Buildings

Colonial Buildings

Museum for the Dirty War's Missing People

Perros (dogs) roam the streets all over Cordoba. Although they are in most Argentine cities and towns, there seemed to be even more of these feral dogs, sitting at every corner, scouring the streets for scraps and hanging out in the sunny spots of parks and plazas.

Perro and child in the square

Our secod day we planned to start with an artesian fair that are famous for their fashion and quality crafts and are meant to be the best in the country, but we quickly discovered we had not read the fine print and the market didn't start till 5pm. So we trudged around the city some more, checking out the produce market and a colourful cathedral before dining in a lovely (albeit pricey) Italian restaurant.

Cathedral

Cathedral

Cathedral

Cathedral

Eventually we made it back to the artesian fair and discovered a lively atmosphere, where earlier there were vacant streets and closed shops. The backdrop for these fairs were brightly coloured street walls of graffiti art and modern yet eclectic boutique shops tucked away in hidden alleyways.

Artesian Markets

Cafe in Artesian Markets

Cordoba's other highlight is its nightlife as it has seven universities in the city, and therefore is largely a student town. On our second night we opted to take part in the hostel's assado (BBQ), chowing down once again on large quantities of sausage, steak and ribs. Bar life being the staple it is, at about 2am Travis and some guys from the hostel headed out to a bar, where they downed revolting, cheap liqour inculding a cuba libra that tasted like it was made with tequilla instead of rum.

Another Cathedral

Outdoor photography gallery with reflection

Needless to say, the next day was a harsh one for Travis, which progessively worsened when we discovered the buses were on strike (on a Sunday) and we could not get to the small neighbouring lake-side town of Alta Gracia where Che Guavera grew up. We did however manage find a park to take a nap and literally lost track of time (Ali's watch stopped) with plenty of perros to keep us company. Our never-ending search for the perfect steak took us to a restuarant which served us the most terrible steak we have eaten (the search continues!), following which we got on our midnight bus en route to Cafayate.

Cathedral Window

Arriving in Mendoza was a welcome relief after BA. Tree-lined streets, green, relaxing plazas and parks and a slower, lazier feel to the town centre put us in a relaxed mood from the beginning. However the town was a lot bigger than we were expecting, and lacking a real wine-region vibe. Mendoza is Argentina's premier wine region, specializing in Malbec. The region has a very dry climate and water is supplied solely from the melting snow of the Andes, and a comprehensive irrigation network.

Mendoza Bodega

Arriving at the hostel we booked we quickly ascertained that it was a s@#thole, and we promptly hightailed it out of there. We then checked into a dorm room in a hostel recommended for its friendliness and infamous pancake breakfasts. Finally we found ourselves in a fun, sociable hostel and kicked off the first night with an assado - the Argentinian BBQ - which involves eating a tonne of meat. So much so that we had to decline 3 offerings of sumptuously cooked pink steak, which was the tastiest we've eaten so far.

The next day we hit some of the bodegas (wineries) in a small town of Maipu, close to Mendoza with many wineries within cycling distance. Taking the advice of fellow travellers, we hired our bikes from the charming Mr Hugo, who sent us on our way with a warm-up glass of wine. Our tour started at a wine museum and then a gourmet goods shop where we tasted many varieties of dulce de leche, chocolate and absinthe (the real deal served with sugar and flame), which meant it took us close to two hours before we tasted our first wine.

Absinthe

Riding the pot-holed, rocky roads, keeping out of the way of huge trucks carrying the grape harvests, and navigating our way around a construction site was not exactly the most idyllic cycling imaginable, however the scenery was lovely and we had no trouble finding ample wine to taste in our remaining four hours.

Bikes and vines

Tastings

Bikes

As well as Malbecs, an attraction of Mendoza is its nearby thermal pools, in the tiny town of Cachueta. An hour and a half bus ride on a bumpy, hot local bus brought us to the thermal springs, and we headed to the hotel resort famous for its day spa and natural hot springs. We arrived knowing it was fully booked due to a pubic holiday, however we decided to try our luck. And for once, luck was on our side! Thanks to some cancellations, we were allowed entry. What followed was six hours of luxury - a steam sauna, a relaxation massage (lucky Ali got hot rocks), a full buffet lunch with no shortage of assado, pool after pool of warm thermal water, and a mud bath from which we had heaps of fun smothering ourselves in glorious mud. All this framed by a spectacular vista of dramatic Andes moutains, a pristine river and rock formations. The indulgence was very welcome and we couldn't have felt more relaxed, as we boarded the rustic local bus back to Mendoza. With a night bus booked to take us to Cordoba, we bid farewell to Mendoza somewhat reluctantly as two days was really a bit of a tease.

Travis in Mud

Thermal springs

Smothered in Mud

Mud, mud, mud