The Land of Llamas

It’s been a bit of a shock moving from urban Buenos Aires to the relative emptiness of the high desert mountains, but that shock has been softened by the presence of a large number of magnificent llamas. Their wool is so soft that we just had to buy a large llama-wool blanket, and I have no idea how we’re going to get it back to San Francisco–perhaps if Miles clutches it tightly, sucks his thumb and glowers at anyone who tries to take it away.

Over the last four days, we’ve had some outdoorsy adventures. We’ve had to ford rivers in our Volkswagen Gol – we actually had to drive the little silver hatchback into the water, through the moving current, and up the other side. “Ford” is not a verb used very often in modern times, but that didn’t stop us from successfully emerging, triumphant, on the western bank. We’ve also eaten baby goat, sampled Torrontés and Cabernet wine ice cream, been inside the “Throat of the Devil” and inadvertently shopped at ChangoMás, the Argentine WalMart.

Our trip has taken us over the mountains from Salta to the oasis village of Cachi. We stayed a couple of nights there and then drove over a very rough dirt road Cafayate. From Cafayate we drove through a river gorge back to Salta, and continued on to the posh hillside town of San Lorenzo (this might be Spanish for “Woodside”–not sure), where we’re currently enjoying a bottle of Los Leones Malbec.

We pose in Salta, right after picking up our own personal Gol. Jim shown in front of the Hotel Munay.

We set out on the rough road to Cachi, stopping at a roadside place in the middle of nowhere for a lunch of empanadas and milanesa. Jim brings fashion to locals.

After many switchbacks, we finally come to the pass. Some landmark signs and a small shrine mark the top of the grade.

The wide-open puna (a high treeless plateau in the Andes, for those who have not yet heeded its call) beckons us in the distance, begging us to traverse its lonely expanse.

Llamas!

We didn’t see many llamas on the road to Cachi, but our hotel had a fantastic llama gazebo:

This is the pool at our hotel. That’s Miles luxuriating in the red bathing suit.

The next day, from Cachi to Cafayate, we found a valley of gigantic cactus.

And more rocky vistas.

We did a quick drive-through of a small desert town on the way to Cafayate.

And on the drive back toward Salta, stopped at La Garganta Del Diablo, or the “Throat of the Devil”:

Here’s a 360-degree video of the fearsome Garganta:

Jim and Miles, in uniform, overlooking the Valles Calchaquíes:

We hiked up a canyon today into the mountain jungle of San Lorenzo.

-M & J