Time to Head Back !

If you wanted to take 10 years or more off your life then it's highly recommended that you take up free rock climbing or alternatively winged suit flying or simply just taking up motorcycling anywhere in Asia !

If a loss of 5 years and losing all your hair is more acceptable then it's highly recommended that you settle instead on hiring a Car in Argentina. Speeding is common.overtaking consists of sitting on someones bumper and then pulling out every now and again to see if its clear, double yellows mean nothing, roads are incredibly narrow with little or no verge and you have absolutely no idea what the road speed limits are even though there are hundreds of next to useless road signs.

Our departure in the dark this morning from Maimara for the 200 km ourney to Salta included all of the above including a few variables just to make the drive really interesting - a low petrol level, numerous police checks, some heavy mist and most importantly a non functioning GPS because neither of us could enter the address of Salta's airport !

While I handled it with my usual due calm by using every expletive in the book. Monika spent a painful hour trying to fire up the GPS with an alternate address.

Eventually we just settled on using my back up option a downloaded offline map on my tablet to navigate to and through the heart of busy Salta to a servo to fill up prior to returning our Sixt Car.

Noticeably aged by the experience it didn't help when I rang the Sixt rep (the only company not on site at the airport) to be told just simply park the car and leave the keys in the glovebox !!!

Just to add a little more spice in the.morning I boarded our Buenos Aies flight to discover my passport was missing - using any expletives I might have missed out on the drive down it eventually transpired that I'd handed it to Monika who'd stowed it without thinking with her carry on !

I figure that with 36 hours in Buenos Aires before flying home I might just use that time to book into the nearest psychiatric hospital for a well earned rest !

In the Clouds

Breathtaking 4,300+ metres high ! 

Stunning !

It's a long way up ! 

Down town Tilcara ! 

High Altitude Joy Ride !

My horizon was spinning and my legs seemed to have a disconnect from my brain !  The vice like grip on my head just confirmed that the huge climb by car to the stunning 4400 metre Hornicol lookout 50 kms north of Maimara might not have been such a great idea !

We should have realised this was no ordinary lookout as parked nearby was an ambulance no doubt with staff ready to spring into action. We'd just driven up on a 23km dirt road climb from Humacha and were now walking with bugger all acclimitisation at 4,400 metres,!

It was our last full day in the Salta region as we drove first to Tilcara (noticeably quieter than our last visit) to catch up with a coffee and some Wi Fi before heading further north some 50 odd Kms to the wild west town of Humacha

This is Nothern Argentina bordering Bolivia where the population look nothing like Spanish - more a deep Andean tribal look living in what mostly looked like mud brick built housing in this dry and desolate landscape.

Driving through Humacha avoiding tractors, horses and roaming packs of dogs we headed on up our amazing climb to the Hornocol a tourist hot spot in the late afternoon as the suns rays light up the nearby coloured sandstone hills !

The climb was seriously hard on the Renault Logan as it bounced along the dirt and rock filled road up the steep and largely unfenced climb.

I knew the car was struggling as I had to put it in first gear on a number of occassions just to stop it from stalling.

Eventually we paid our 50 pesos (entrance fee)  heard the local Andean mumble something in Spanish about altitude sickness and parked not far away from the residing ambulance who no doubt figured he was going to get some good passing trade !

We finally staggered out of our car and half walked half stumbled to the lookout proper both aware of the crushing pressure that high altitude can provide without proper acclimitisation.

Many pics taken we quickly retraced our car journey for spectacular valley views all the way back to Maimara where a late afternoon drone flight looking at the coloured painted hills finished up our great journey to the Salta region !

Pumamarca

The Hills Come Alive !

After yesterdays tiring drive we slept in till 7.30 (yep that's a holiday sleep in) took a lovely hand delivered breakfast from our kindly local hosts then set off for some domestics 10km away at the Andean styled village of Tilcara.

As per the norm we joined a lengthy queue at the Tilcara servo (some car drivers painfully had 3-4 fuel containers) before heading into the towns centre down impossibly small dirt lanes smack bang into a religious Easter parade. 

Somehow we found a car park nearby in an alleyway and then set off for our next least favourite task shopping.

This time we at least scored a local market and replenished our supplies with what looked like fresh produce before targeting an ATM where a) you"re limited to withdrawing just over $100 a day and b) you pay a whopping $15 atm fee !!!

Thankfully with all tasks complete and the parade nearing its conclusion, we could hit a nearby cafe for a drink to access the Wi Fi which is not available at our appartment.

Chores done we exited Tilcara narrowly avoiding leaving our mirrors behind and headed back to our appartment a very basic local style 2 storey room (I'm not game to use the 2nd storey !) badly positioned right on the bend of the main highway at Maimara !

We ventured out again mid afternoon to Pumamarca a town about 15,kms away famed for its colourful marzipan looking sandstone hills.

Lonely Planet suggested the town might be a bit touristy ! 

A bit touristy!!! First glance showed a gridlock of cars trying to get into the towns small front entrance so I opted for its rear entrance 2-3 kms away and scored a park away from the roaming parking ticket mafia  (you have to pay to park in the town!)

Once through the packed central part we were finally able to enjoy the beautiful sandstone hills overlooking the town

A 3km circuit had us alternatively clambering and gasping in the thinish air (2,600 metres) while taking in beautiful views of the multi coloured rocks dominating the town

Monika tried hard to leave me all her money by getting partly stuck up on a narrow sandstone ledge before we escaped the throngs and headed back to Maimara

There was just one final piece of drama for the day as i attempted to turn over double yellows to enter our driveway much to the annoyance of a following motorist suggesting that double yellows actually mean something in Argentina ! Needless to say his horn blowing was followed by mine as well as the good ol Aussie retort of "F.. Off ..WTF am I meant to do you idiot"!!!!

Oh the joy of driving in Argentina !

Quebrada

The Devils Canyon ! 

Stunning early morning views ! 

Driving the Quebrada

It was a full on assault as I got thrown into "driving Argentina 101" on our extended 6 hr / 350km drive northwards back past Salta to Maimara in Nthn Argentina.

The first hour or two after leaving Cafayate were quiet and broken by some stunning red sandstone scenery. In the early morning light the hills literally looked like they were on fire. Rock formation names included The Frog, The Amphitheatre, The Devils Canyon and more - the Cafayate - Salta drive is surely of the prettiest you'll do anywhere in the world

As the miles rolled by the quiet traffic soon gave way to hordes of tourist buses and traffic escaping Salta for the Easter weekend.

I soon learnt that double yellow lines mean nothing in Argentina as cars constantly overtook at high speed on narrow roads. Not that you could keep pace as every now and again you'd drive through a wash away dip that threatened to launch you airborne if not careful !

After the scenery came busy Salta which we eventually navigated around finding ourselves for the first time on some form of super highway where you could actually drive safely at 110+ kms / hr.

Heading now north towards Bolivia the hills soon became towering monoliths. They were seriously high !

We commenced climbing following the dry Rio Grande river bed and in the afternoon sun the distinct coloured rocks that make this region famous came into view !

We finally found our basic apartment accommodation (right on the corner of the main highway) in Maimara ideally situated for exploring the Andean villages and nearby high altitude towns.

For the moment though it was time to make a meal out of our Cafayate bought supplies and relax after a pretty tiring but spectacular days drive !
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Long Dusty Drive to Cafayate !

En route to Cafayate

It's dusty ! 

Beautiful scenery

Cafayate

Our Hotel

All Shook Up !

It had taken a couple of days but I felt we were just about ready to give a fair evaluation of our 1.6cc Renault Logan with its hand me down Garmin /GPS unit.

 I couldn't really complain too much about the latter I guess as the unit did seem like it was doing its best to get us there quickly - admittedly telling me I could go 110kms an hour through signposted 40km hr zones and routing me right through the middle of a market may not have gone down too well with the locals !

As for the car it did have one redeeming feature it let me know pretty well when it was getting close to "break up" speed and todays bone shaking 150kms had plenty of moments when that was just about to happen

We left lovely Cachi doing a couple of laps thx to our GPS and after sussing out how to use the local servo we set off on a route described on line as one of the bumpiest and most scenic road routes in Argentina!

We definitely agreed with the first statement as I could barely do over 40kms an hr for the first 50 or so kms without feeling like I was coming down with Parkinsons ! 

The winding road constantly climbed over and around the nearby hills on rutted narrow dirt filled roads with a number of incredibly blind corners to keep you interested !

After 50kms the scenery really began to pick up with jagged eroded hills dominating the landscape as well as some beautiful colours - the blood red soil and the irrigated (green) wine producing valleys providing great contrast !

The only problem for the entire journey other than worrying if the Renault could safely exceed 40 was that there were bugger all places to pull over and enjoy some of this amazing scenery !

Finally after being on the go for over 5 hours we found our way into Cafayate (well we did after we picked our GPS unit off the floor after it was shaken off the screen) and our Motel located just yards from the City centre which looks like its in party mode for the Easter weekend !

Just a short drive tomorrow as we head back through Salta to our base for the next 4 nights .. just a paltry 350 odd Kms away !

Happy Easter to all ! 

En Route to Cachi !

En route to Cachi 

Finally over the pass

Arrival Cachi

Beautiful views en route

Dry and Dusty to Cachi !

After yesterday's less than thrilling intro to driving and navigating in Argentina we set off again leaving our ranch style motel aiming to make our way into the mountains and the Andean styled village of Cachi.

A quick check on Maps indicated that the 140km journey was going to take at least 3hours suggesting some challenging driving ahead (where's Henley when you need him !)

Day 2 got off almost as well as Day1 when a);I nearly entered a highway going up an exit ramp (no signage) and b) Monika wiped off the GPS display causing us to drive blind for a few minutes.

With the days quota of expletives already used things calmed down and other than an abundance of police checkpoints it was smooth sailing as we worked our way through numerous small dusty villages on to Route 33 to Cachi.

This 100 km segment was stunning as we climbed and climbed leaving our bitumen road going on to a dust bowl where we finally made the pass at a breath taking 3'500 metres

I must have had an oxygen depleted brain as I momentarily thought that this would be a great route to cycle !!

Heading down off the pass the bitumen returned as did another type of stunning scenery. Gone were the startling layers of red soil to be replaced by row upon row of gigantic Cacti . These can grow up to 10metres in height and painted the plateau as an incredibly dry and arid landscape.

Eventually we reached the delightful Andean styled village of Cachi - a sleepy village of white wall washed buildings against a backdrop of snow capped mountains one giant being over 6,300 metres tall !

Day 3 provides a real challenge to driver and car as we seek to drive off road to Cafayate across some startling red canyon like scenery - this time Google reckons our 150+ km journey will take upwards of 5 hours !!!
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In Salta !

OMG ...  this had the potential to be a bloody nightmare ! 

 I"d planned on a simple 2km drive out of the Airport to our Motel near Salta - time i thought to get used to the car, the traffic and the local Salta driving conditions. It had all gone wrong though when our Car Hire agent suggested that we head into town to pick up a GPS unit for our hire car !

I didnt know that the city of Salta was over 10kms away and comprised over a million people! I didn't know that the route that our agent took was soon to be closed by striking workers and I sure as hell didn"t know that Salta had a shit load of one way streets with a large number of them really poorly marked !

We'd started the day off well enough by undergoing our well worn route to the Buenos Aires city airport of AEP only a 20+ minute drive away from downtown BA.

Checked in we were soon on our way to Salta in the Nthn corner of Argentina. Salta is an area that is famed for its wineries and its proximity to the  high altitude painted hills of the Andes.

Fast forwarding - after our arrival at Salta & journey into the city centre to pick up the GPS unit we now found ourselves going round in circles trying to pick up our route (yes even with GPS) while trying to avoid the narrow one way streets !

Using some Henley logic after using up my full list of expletives, I thought stuff it - I just took the shortest route (down i suspect a one way street) and finally rejoined our missing potholed shitty Hwy. 

Somehow we eventually found our way to our ranch style Motel and with a huge sigh of relief checked in !

It was time to finally unwind although with our detached unit coming with its very own 4 kennel dog enclosure (full) this just might be a bit problematic !

 Only 7 days to go !

Tango Time

With Kev winging his way back to OZ on a route that took him round the planet 2-3 times (42 hours) we took to the streets locating one of the oldest (160 years) cafes in Buenos Aires Cafe Tortoni .

While sitting back and enjoying the cafe's ambience, a Tango show and someone else's Cheese Platter (hey they put it on our table !) we took time out to reflect on some of the weird, wonderful and learning experiences collectively had so far in Argentina !
......
Giving a new excuse for being late for work - Walking across the 9th of July Ave in Buenos Aires - 16 plus lanes of traffic and 4 traffic dividers / sets of traffic lights - surely one of the widest roads in the world !

Learning about the fragile nature of the Argentinian economy - 9% unemployment, average Yearly wage of just $6,000 US dollars, an old age pension of $20 AUD a month and unemployment benefits a paltry $13AUD a month - add high inflation and you have the recipe for wide unrest !

The iconic mouth watering Argentina steak - Huge, tasty and cheap !

Fond cycling memories - Pommie Kev's look of delight every time he discovered another new brand of beer - Julia falling in love (sorry Kev) with her E Bike and Henley getting plenty of use out of his middle finger when asked how he was going when cycling off road !

Watching a police led motorcade come through Buenos Aires with the leading policemen standing on the pegs of their motorcycles waving people out of the way while riding standing with no hands on their motorcycles !

Spying an animal that looked like a cross between an Lama and a Kangaroo - able to jump fences with grace !

Walking the amazing Recolleta Cemetry and it's incredible Mausoleums - one incredibly showing carved figures of a husband and wife with their backs to each other for eternity !

Marvelling at the drivers in Buenos Aires who have perfected lane splitting when no actual lane room exists - Just ask H !

Being unnerved at the unusual practice of Sth American passengers clapping when their flight arrives in one piece ... hmmm, maybe that means .....

And as for one of the most annoying Henley habits on tour (amongst the thousands) H's incessant wrist flapping in an attempt to keep his $20 Vietnamese Rolex working (a motion based watch) given its sentimental value - I'm sorry Marysia but it only reliably kept time twice a day !

And finally the incredibly friendly Argentinian people and the country's amazing landscapes !


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Henley’s Marathon Journey !

As Kev embarks upon his marathon 42 hour journey home it’s timely to share some of his finer moments on tour !