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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